Markel around the world

Featuring Kennesaw, GA

Civil War Cannon at Kennesaw Mountain

Office highlights

• Kennesaw is one of nine Markel Specialty – Programs locations
• This location became part of Markel when Thompson Insurance Enterprises was acquired by Markel in 2012
• Home to probably the only Disney cast member in the company, Bob Scaglione, who is a conductor on the Walt Disney Railroad
• The Kennesaw office provides annual support to local charities, mostly chosen because of personal impact on an associate, including The Jessica Lee Foundation, Cherokee County Special Olympics, Good Neighbor Homeless Shelter, and Loving Arms Cancer Outreach
• About 90 associates
• Over 800 years of service combined between associates
• Map/directions

Kennesaw, GA Location: Greater Atlanta metropolitan area (23 miles Northwest of Atlanta in Cobb County) Latitude: 34° 1' N Longitude: 84° 36' W Avg high temp in Jan: 52° F / 11° C Avg high temp in Jul: 90° F / 32° C Population: About 31,000

An historic, southern railroad town, Kennesaw, Georgia covers 8.5 square miles (22 km2) in the greater Atlanta metro area. With the construction of a railroad through Cobb County in the 1830s, several small towns popped up, including Big Shanty, now known as Kennesaw.

In addition to Markel’s office, you can visit the famous locomotive from the Great Locomotive Chase of April 12, 1862. During the Civil War, a locomotive named, The General, was hijacked by Andrews’ Raiders (22 Northern spies) to damage track, bridges, and telegraph wires. Chased by the conductor and his men on foot and by two other locomotives, Andrews’ Raiders eventually ran out of fuel and abandoned their mission.

You will also find the third-largest university in Georgia, Kennesaw State University, located near historic Kennesaw Mountain.

Interesting facts about Kennesaw and locomotives

In 2007, Kennesaw was selected by Family Circle magazine as one of the nation's "10 best towns for families."

The name Kennesaw comes from the Cherokee Indian word “Gahneesah” (gah-nee-sah) meaning cemetery or burial ground.

Kennesaw established a mandatory gun-possession ordinance in 1982 requiring all heads of a household to own a firearm and ammunition.

Visit Kennesaw for the city's annual Pigs and Peaches BBQ Festival on Friday, August 22 and Saturday, August 23, 2014. Georgia, known as "The Peach State," designated the peach as the official state fruit in 1995.

The original engine for The General was built at a cost of $8,850 in 1855.

Average speeds for locomotives in the 1860s averaged 15 miles per hour (24 km/h), with short bursts of speed at 20 miles per hour (32 km/h).

Learn more about Kennesaw

All about Kennesaw

Kennesaw.com

The Southern Museum

The history of Kennesaw

The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain