Odessa Tritt Lassiter & What Makes the Tritt Property Special for East Cobb

Front view of the 54-acre Tritt Property

Many of the families that shaped East Cobb are  involved in the Tritt property: the Delks, the Lassiters, and the Tritts.  East Cobb schools and roads have been named in honor of these families, and interestingly the families are interconnected by marriage.

Odessa Tritt Lassiter willed the Tritt property to Wylene Tritt's late husband, Norris Tritt, in 1948, and the property was in the family for at least 80 years before that.  Odessa Tritt Lassiter’s will and testament was unique in that she wrote that the trees of the Tritt property should always be preserved:  Odessa’s will stipulated “No timber is to be cut off of either place except for building and repairs on these farms.”  This was part of Odessa Tritt Lassiter’s legacy to her family. 

Tree in front of the Tritt property

Part of the Will of Odessa Tritt Lassiter: "No timber is to be cut off of either place except for building and repairs on these farms."

In 1950, Norris and Wylene Tritt moved onto the Tritt property, and the Tritt's honored Odessa's wish in how they built their current home. Wylene Tritt said 'the wood that framed the current house was sawed right from the trees on the property'. 

The original barn from the time when Odessa Tritt Lassiter lived on the property still stands as a testament to a simpler time, when people rode in horse-drawn carriages and farmed the land. 

From 2012 Around Walton article (Click to read entire story)

When Norris Tritt, the late husband of the current owner, Wylene Tritt, inherited the land in 1948 from his Aunt Odessa Tritt Lassiter, it was still 80 acres.  Norris Tritt sold some of his land to the Bowles family, who in turn sold their land to the Friends for East Cobb Park in 2001; this was the first 13 acres of East Cobb Park. East Cobb Park, according to Cobb County, "has become one of the most heavily used parks in our system."  

East Cobb Park looking towards the Tritt property in February 2015

In 2005, Mrs. Tritt donated land easements to connect Fuller’s Park and East Cobb Park, and the main bridge at East Cobb Park is named in honor of Norris Tritt, Odessa Tritt Lassiter's nephew: "The Friends for the East Cobb Park are pleased to announce a collaboration with Mrs. Wylene Tritt, the owner of the property located on the east side of Sewell Mill Creek across from East Cobb Park.  The agreement reached with Mrs. Tritt is to establish a permanent easement across her property, allowing for the connection of East Cobb Park to Fullers Park." 

Dedication at the East Cobb Park bridge

Bridge named in honor of Norris Tritt, nephew of Odessa Tritt Lassiter

The history of the Tritt land goes back much further.  In 1832, Georgia held the Gold Lottery, to give away several thousand parcels of 40 acres each.  The Cherokees had recently been forced from the area (the Trail of Tears), and there was the belief that much of their former land had gold, including the present area of East Cobb.  There was so much demand for the gold land, that the state divided the area into 40 acre parcels (called Land Lots), rather than the usual 160 acre parcels. The Land Lot system is still used today to describe land in Cobb County.

Also, in 1832 Cobb County was formed from the former Cherokee land.  We don't know the earliest history of the current Tritt land, because the Union army burned the Cobb courthouse, along with most records, in 1864, during the Civil War.  However, we know from available tax lists that Jackson Delk (1814-1897) owned the land by at least 1864.

The Tritt property on a map from 1869 (land lots 965 & 966 in red box)

Jackson Delk was the brother of Emily Delk (1823-1891), who was the wife of William Tritt (1820-1906), and these were the great-grandparents of Norris Tritt; in fact, William Tritt and Emily Delk are the ancestors of all the Tritt family in Cobb County.  Jackson Delk owned the land until his death in 1897, and then it was inherited by his son John Delk, who moved to Texas and sold the land to his brother Robert Delk in 1907.  Robert Delk in turn sold the land to his first cousin David Tritt in 1916.  David Tritt sold the land in 1917 to his niece, Odessa Tritt Lassiter, who owned the land until her death in 1948. 

Inheritance of the Tritt property since before the Civil War

Odessa was the widow of Henry Lassiter, and had no children, so in her will she gave her property to her nephews, Norris and James Tritt.  Norris Tritt received his aunt's 80 acres on Roswell Road, while James Tritt, father of country music singer Travis Tritt, got 120 acres on Post Oak Tritt Road, where the Lost Forest subdivision is located today.  So, the land has been in the Delk and Tritt families, who were closely related, for a very long time.  

Part of the history of the Tritt property involves the Park Bonds.  With the 2006 Park Bond, the Tritt property was “the only top-tier property recommended by the first citizens committee that was not purchased.” And this property was again at the top of the list for the Park Bond in 2008, which Cobb County has yet to issued.  We do feel that the 2008 Park Bond should be issued as it was a voter-approved referendum that passed in November 2008 with over 65% of the vote.  Even if that Bond is not used to purchase this property, the 2008 Park Bond money should be issued before re-allocating it into the Braves funding.

In April 2009 Mrs. Tritt spoke eloquently and clearly, "I would like the county to have my property so the park would be big enough for all the residents in the area to enjoy." This East Cobb area is blessed with excellent schools and convenient amenities, yet the ratio of parks per household is very low in Cobb County.  From the Trails of Cobb County map, it is easy to see that this area is clearly under-served in terms of parks and trails, and in fact all of Cobb County has a need for more parkland to improve the people-to-parks ratio.

Here are Endangered Species most likely on the Tritt property,
according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and
we request that a formal environmental survey be completed before any rezoning.

Ammodramus henslowii (Henslow's Sparrow) spotted approx. 2.5 mi. S of site

Platanthera integrilabia (Monkeyface Orchid) [EXTIRPATED (local extinction)] approx. 2.5 mi. W of site

Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus (Northern Pine Snake) unknown location possibly on site

Platanthera integrilabia (Monkeyface Orchid) [EXTIRPATED (local extinction)]

Schisandra glabra (Bay Star-vine) approx. 1.5 mi. S of site

Wetlands are confirmed on both sides of the Tritt property along Sewell Mill Creek, and it is most probable that wetlands exist along the Tritt property.  The only reason wetlands are not confirmed would be that the property has not been surveyed.  Again, a complete environmental survey should be done before any rezoning.

Wetlands confirmed on either side of the Tritt property along Sewell Mill Creek.

The Isakson Living CCRC plan for the property should be denied on its own merits: With nine 4-story tall apartment buildings, plus two other multi-story buildings, plus 65 cluster homes, it would be ridiculously intense for this area.  

We know that East Cobb has the right to protect the residential character of this community, and we do not want a large-scale commercial development on the Tritt property.

Zoning codes should not be changed just because a developer wants a property for a certain goal. Zoning codes are designed to protect our neighborhood homes, schools, and parks, and as a community we are asking the Board of Commissioners to uphold these principles.

Please join us in this effort at the March 3 Planning Commission meeting
at 9:00 AM to raise your hand and vote 'No' to this development. 
You can sign the Petition here to halt this development project &
give the community a chance to save the Tritt property legacy
for everyone in our community.

Join the effort to protect the Tritt property from overdevelopment