Finally On the Road Again!

Last year wasn’t too kind to us as it pertained to our wanderlust and exploratory genes… Too many surgeries and related issues interrupted our usual back road efforts to record historic sites while seeking a variety of places to dine along the way.

We were finally on the road!  We headed south on I-75 looking for a bit of warmth.  We are not fans of cold and snow.  Too many years in Chicago will have that effect on folks… 

Our first stop was in Calhoun Georgia, the County Seat of Gordon County.  The 1854 Western and Atlantic Railroad depot was one of the sites of the Civil War’s "Great Locomotive Chase" in 1862.  The depot has been completely rebuilt within its existing walls and it now houses a community meeting room and offices.  The depot is located at 109 S. King Street.

 

To learn more about the Great Locomotive Chase, you can go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Locomotive_Chase.

Our next stop was in beautiful Rome Georgia.  Rome is the largest city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia.  

The Chieftains Museum, also known as the Major Ridge Home, is a two-story white frame house that was built around a 1792 log house in Cherokee country.  It was the home of the Cherokee leader Major Ridge who negotiated and signed the Treaty of New Echota of 1835.  That treaty ceded the remainder of Cherokee lands in the Southeast to the United States. He was part of a minority group known as the ‘Treaty Party’, who believed that relocation was inevitable and wanted to negotiate the best deal with the United States for their people.  He was assassinated after removal to the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory for having ceded the tribe's communal lands, as this was considered a capital crime.

To learn more about Major Ridge and the Chieftains Museum, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chieftains_Museum_(Major_Ridge_Home).

The 1937 Double-Cola Bottling Company building is significant as it’s architecture is a good example of the use of the International style for a commercial building.  It is significant because it is one of a kind in the area.  The Double-Cola soft-drink firm built its first bottling plant in Rome and their brands were bottled here from 1937 until the 1970s, with the building being sold in 1985.

The Double Cola Company was actually founded in Chattanooga Tennessee in 1922.  It’s still in business and the company bottles a variety of products.  To learn more, go to http://double-cola.com/.

We accidentally made a wrong turn and found ourselves in a neighborhood near downtown Rome that featured a plethora of beautiful old homes… This 1891 Victorian Cottage on 319 East Fourth Street is the only one that I’ve been able to identify.

 

It was a beautiful neighborhood with so many great looking old homes that it was hard to decide what to photograph!

My research didn’t uncover the identity of either the preceding home or this one but I’m guessing that these homes are part of Rome’s “Between the Rivers Historic District”.  To learn more about this beautiful historic district, go to http://www.romegeorgia.com/historicdistrict.html.

The city of Rome was developed on 7 hills with rivers running between them, a feature that inspired the early European-American settlers to name it for Rome, the capital of Italy.  It developed as a market and trading city due to its advantageous location on the rivers, which were used to send the rich regional cotton commodity crop downriver to markets on the Gulf Coast for export overseas.

Situated on one of the 7 hills of Rome the old City Clock stands in the center of the city.  It sits on top of the town's first water reservoir.  This reservoir was designed to serve as the new water system which was installed in 1871. The clock was made by the E. Howard Clock Co. of Waltham Massachusetts. It was shipped to Rome on October 7, 1872.  The structure, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, now houses a museum.

These 2 photos are of the former U.S. Post Office and Federal Courthouse at 600 East First Street in Rome.  The building was originally constructed in 1896 and then it was expanded in 1904, 1911 and 1941.  It is now owned by Floyd County and it serves as the county administrative building.  The current county court operates in this building. 

Note: Floyd County was named after John Floyd, the brigadier general in the First Brigade of Georgia Militia in the War of 1812. He was also one of the largest landowners and wealthiest men in Camden County, Georgia.  He served in the Georgia House of Representatives, as well as the US House of Representatives.  Learn more about this interesting and accomplished man at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Floyd_(Georgia_politician).

This massive 2-story brick building with a matching clock tower is believed to be Floyd County's fourth courthouse.  It was built in 1892-93.  Although it is no longer used as a courthouse, this building still stands as the most prominent structure in the Floyd County government complex in downtown Rome.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a tour!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave