ATLANTA, GA — Cobb Landmarks and Historical Society is partnering with the University of West Georgia, south downtown Atlanta, Marietta, Roswell, and Cobb Parks to try to determine when some of the metro area’s oldest buildings were constructed by using a rather unconventional method.

It’s a technology usually used for climate, but the group project will use dendrochronology, or counting tree rings, to try to find the real dates of some buildings, which Trevor Beemon of Cobb Landmarks says, often hide beneath facades.

He says the process has not been used in Atlanta on a large scale.

They’re going to start with about six buildings in downtown Atlanta. They include the former Rich’s department store downtown, Brumby Hall, and Mimosa Hall.

Beemon says they’ll also try to dig up more information on the Power-Jackson Cabin, which was recently moved to a farm in Cobb County.

“There are [sources] that state that it was native-built and pre-existing on the property before the land lottery. If we can dates some of those logs, then that might tell us that this is the oldest structure remaining in Cobb County, which would be really exciting.”

He says it’s exciting to see Atlanta coming around to focus more on the preservation of its history.

WSB Radio’s Lisa Nicholas contributed to this story.