by admin | August 19th, 2008
Since I was born and raised in Rome Georgia, I thought it was about time I gave North Georgia some glory. Most of what I have done up to this point has dealt with my more exotic adventures and travel destinations. Check out my Rome, Georgia site when you get a chance.
Named by drawing a name out of a hat, this small North Georgia town, has a history much bigger than its size. It’s name could have been Pittsburg, Hamburg, Hillsboro, or Warsaw but Colonel Mitchell’s name of Rome was pulled out of the hat. How appropriate, because like ancient Rome, it is a city of seven hills.
Indicative of its past importance, the home of Cherokee Indian chief Major Ridge is now preserved as a part of the National Park Service’s “Trail of Tears National Historic Trail”.
The savageness with which the major part of the “Cherokee Nation” was forcefully marched to a new settlement in “Indian Country” in present day Oklahoma is a black mark on all of our Southern heritage.
Settled at the confluence of the Etowah and Oostanaula Rivers which then became the Coosa River, it had been used as a settlement for local Indians for a long time prior to the White Man’s arrival.
In this lens, I showed some of the highlights of Rome’s (and Floyd County’s) history, the local sites of interest, and it’s relationship to Rome, Italy (there is one!).
And, the clock tower picture, there’s a story on that also. It has become a symbol of Rome, Georgia since 1872.
