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
What a great post, Dave! The homes are beautiful, and I thoroughly enjoyed this lovely tour, and all the information you are providing. Thank you so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you got the trip off to a good start. The wrong turn worked out well for you.
ReplyDelete