Marietta in Cobb County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
Mary Phagan
Erected by City of Marietta, Georgia.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Law Enforcement • Women. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1625.
Location. 33° 56.622′ N, 84° 32.844′ W. Marker is in Marietta, Georgia, in Cobb County. Marker can be reached from West Atlanta Street SE just north of Cemetery Street SE. Marker is located in the Old Marietta City Cemetery, in the southeast section. It is accessible only from West Atlanta Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Marietta GA 30060, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Lady in Black (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Rev. Thomas Milton Allen (about 600 feet away); William Root (about 800 feet away); Rest well, Miss Mattie (about 800 feet away); S. V. Sanford (approx. 0.2 miles away); Founder's Lot William Harris (approx. 0.2 miles away); This Little Cannon (approx. 0.2 miles away); Marietta Confederate Cemetery (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Marietta.
Regarding Mary Phagan. The murder of Mary Phagan, followed by the conviction and lynching of Leo Frank remains controversial even today. Frank was pardoned in 1986 due to the lynching, but most of Mary Phagan's family remains convinced of his guilt, although there is evidence that another person committed the murder.
One version of the lyrics of "Little Mary Phagan":
Little Mary Phagan,
She went to town one day:
She went to the pencil factory
To get her weekly pay.
She left her home at eleven;
She kissed her mother goodbye;
Not once did the poor girl think
She was going off to die.
Leo Frank met her
With a brutish heart and grin;
He says to little Mary:
"You'll never see home again."
Down on her knees fell
To Leo Frank and pled.
He picked a stick from the trash pile
And beat her o'er the head.
The tears rolled dean her cheek,
The blood rolled down her back,
For she remembered telling her mother
What time she would be back.
Nemphon was the watchman;
He went to wind his key;
Away down in the basement
Was nothing he could see.
They phoned for the officers;
Their names I do not know;
They came to the pencil factory,
Says to Nemphon, "You must go."
They took him to the jail house;
They bound him in his cell;
The poor old innocent negro
Had nothing he could tell.
Mother sits a-weeping;
She weeps and mourns all day
And hopes to meet her darling
In a better land some day.
Come, all ye good people,
Wherever you may be,
Suppose that "little Mary"
Belonged to you or me.
I have an idea in my mind
When Frankie comes to die
And stands examination
In the courthouse in the sky,
He'll be so astonished
To what the angels say
And how he killed little Mary
Upon that holiday.
Judge Roan passed a sentence;
He passed it very well;
The Christian doers of heaven
Sent Leo Frank to hell.
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. The HMDB entry for the Leo Frank Lynching Marker
Also see . . . Wikipedia entry for Leo Frank. The Wikipedia entry for Leo Frank contains a rather complete story of the murder, subsequent trial, and the lynching of Leo Frank. (Submitted on March 2, 2009, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia.)
Additional keywords. crimes, lynching, terrorism
Credits. This page was last revised on November 16, 2019. It was originally submitted on March 1, 2009, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. This page has been viewed 3,396 times since then and 65 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on March 1, 2009, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.