Cartersville, Georgia - History Fact Sheet
Prehistoric Times
The earliest evidence of human occupation of the Cartersville, Georgia area is the Paleo-Indian Period (10,000 BC). The first historic documentation came in 1540 with DeSoto's account of the culture at the Etowah Indian Mounds, which is now a state historic site and public attraction.
Native Americans
After the dissemination of the Mississippian Mound Builder Culture, the Creek Indian Tribe inhabited the region until driven south by the Cherokees in the late 18th Century. The progressive Cherokee adopted the lifestyles of the European clergy and frontiersmen already forging into the area. Regardless, the discovery of gold in north Georgia in 1828 numbered the Cherokee's days here in their "Enchanted Land."
Cass County
The State of Georgia usurped Cherokee lands and created 10 counties, one of which was Cass. The county was so named in honor of General Lewis Cass, who was born in New Hampshire and served at the time as Secretary of War under President Andrew Jackson. The county seat was Cassville. The town was home to two colleges and was the site of Georgia's first Supreme Court decision in 1846. Cassville suffered irreparable damage from Union occupation in May-October 1864. After the Civil War, Cartersville became the county seat.
Bartow County
The Civil War brought many changes to Cass County the least of which was a new name. In the Georgia Secession Convention of 1861, Cass County's three delegates voted against secession. When the state voted to leave the Union, the county not only sent their men to volunteer, but also decided on a new county name. The name Bartow County was chosen in honor of Francis Bartow, a Confederate General killed in the First Battle of Manassas. Prior to the Civil War, Bartow was an attorney in Savannah who had represented many prominent Cass County citizens who moved here from Savannah.
From Birmingham to Cartersville
The area known today as Cartersville began as a hamlet called Birmingham along a stage route between Rome and "Marthasville". A frequent traveler along the route was Col. Farrish Carter, a prominent north Georgia planter and entrepreneur who owned plantations in Chatsworth and Milledgeville. Carter, noting his many stops in Birmingham, suggested to area settlers that the town should be called Cartersville. Although Carter owned land near present-day Cartersville, he never resided in the town that was renamed for him.
Cartersville Today
After the Civil War, the railroad and industrious pioneers brought great growth to Cartersville. Though the town was first incorporated in 1850, it was incorporated as a city in 1872. The area's natural resources and transportation corridors supplemented growth in Cartersville. Today, the area's rich history plays an economic role in the local tourism industry by attracting thousands of visitors each year.
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