Fernweh, An Ache for Distant Places

NORTHWEST GEORGIA
Georgia’s northwest region, just south of Chattanooga and the Sequatchie Valley, is full of beautiful mountain towns. Some of these include Blue Ridge, McCaysville, Ellijay, Blairsville, Dahlonega, Helen, Rabun County, and this blog will be about the highlights of Dalton, Calhoun, Rome, & Cartersville which cover a 40-mile stretch from north to south. 

This land first belonged to the Woodland Indians, Creek Nation, and Cherokee before the Indian Removal Act and Trail of Tears began forcing them from their homelands in 1838.

Below is Dalton’s mascot in the mural King Peacock by Ruth Park.

DALTON
Dalton, Georgia has nearly 35k people in about 20 square miles. Its downtown is the fifth largest downtown district in the state of Georgia and boasts over 300 businesses. 

Daltonians value civic engagement and host a number of events like the monthly CommUNITY Dinners and their annual “Gratefull” Dalton Thankgsiving meal, the People of Dalton storytelling campaign, The Civil War Show at the Dalton Convention Center, and the Dalton Brewing Company Block Party. Creative Arts Guild has its own Annual Festival, First Fridays, and Art & Soul events too.

Music festivals are abundant in Dalton including the Civitan Festival, Woodsongs Concert Series, Cohutta Songwriters Festival, Friendship House Music Festival, Off the Rails Summer Music Series, Pops in the Park, Moonlight & Moonshine at Tunnel Hill, and the Prater’s Mill Festival.

You can also attend the annual Coin & Stamp Show, Fried Pickle Festival, all sorts of rodeos, home shows, flea markets, pancake dinners, car shows, hot rod rallies, parades, tree lightings, fireworks, and everything else in the world you could think of. 

Additionally, Dalton has several festivals hosted by its flourishing Latin/Hispanic community including CLILA’s Festival del Sabor Latin Taste, Día de los Muertos at Creative Arts Guild, Mexican Independence Day at the Fairgrounds, and Festival Guadalupe. 

PEACOCKS ON PARADE
Two things intrigued me about Dalton right off the bat. The first thing was when a friend, knowing that I love peacocks, told me about a series of large peacock statues dotted about downtown. The second thing; I will tell you about that later.

Peacocks on Parade is a public art installation that began in 2011 and was spearheaded by the Downtown Dalton Development Authority. Each five feet-tall, 100-pound, fiberglass peacock statue is hand-painted and decorated by a different artist or team.

You can find them primarily around the 100 block of Hamilton Street, a segment of US Hwy 41 that runs through Dalton and is called Peacock Alley by locals. 

In the 1920s, local women would advertise their trademark chenille bedspreads along the major thoroughfare for visitors and travelers to buy, which earned the name “Bedspread Alley.”

Peacocks were the most popular design of all, and the abundance of peacocks lining the road also earned US Hwy 41 the name “Peacock Alley.”

Be sure to check out the back sides, too. 

CHENILLE & TEXTILES
Catherine Evans-Whitener was 15 when she was first credited for revitalizing the local textile production and creating a reputation that put Dalton on the map as a global industry leader.

Her “candlewick embroidery” technique of hand-tufting that became the process of chenille was a sensation for making rugs and blankets, and it became a multi-million dollar business in the 1950s.

By that time, many of the roadside locales were filled in with developed stores and other buildings, but the women continued to sell their beloved bedspreads. 

THE CARPET CAPITAL OF THE WORLD WILL FLOOR YOU
The second thing that intrigued me about Dalton was hearing that it is the “Flooring Capital of the World” and their slogan is one variation or another of a pun about floors. For example, “There is so much to do in Dalton, you’ll be FLOORED!” or “Come get FLOORED in Dalton!” Whew, I love a good pun.

Various sources name over 150 carpet plants and stores there. It is said that over 30,000 local people are employed in the carpet and flooring manufacturing business and that more than 90% of the world’s functional carpet is produced in or around Dalton.

As unbelievable as that is, there is a downside. Dangerous chemicals have been detected in local water sources, for starters. There is also a site called the Carpet Landfill with over 500,000 tons of baled carpet, just sitting there… getting grosser by the minute.

You can read more about the The Carpet Industry in Dalton and History of Carpet if you want.

DALTON FREIGHT HISTORY
A less famous but equally vital industry of Dalton was railroad and freight transportation. Dalton’s Historic Freight Depot was built in 1914 and was one of two important railroad depots that served downtown Dalton until 1955.

Decades later, it was renovated in 2009 and reopened as a Visitors Center with an active viewing station. 

Freight depots have long served as hubs for social and economic activity in each community, so it makes sense that the depot is used to welcome visitors and dispense information.

This depot remains a gateway to Dalton just like it always has.

Stop in to learn more about the Tunnel Hill Heritage Center tours, the Dalton-Whitfield Textile Heritage Tour, and the West Georgia Textile Trail, which seems to be becoming obsolete due to the rizzier Dalton-Whitfield tour.

WESTERN & ATLANTTIC TUNNEL & TOUR
Another tour to consider is the Western and Atlantic Railroad Tunnel and Heritage Center where you can walk through the old tunnels and learn about the Great Locomotive Chase of the Civil War or catch a reenactment of the Battle of the Tunnel each September.

CIVIL WAR DRIVING TOUR
You can pick up a brochure for this tour in the Depot Visitor Center, or you can follow along with the Atlanta Campaign Civil War Driving Tour which includes stopping at Dalton to see Mill Creek Gap, Potato Hill, Dug Gap, Dalton Confederate Cemetery, and Joseph E. Johnston’s headquarters and monument.

DIXIE HIGHWAY TOUR
While visiting, we saw a couple signs for a Dixie Highway tour. After searching the internet, this seems to be the least vague website about the self-guided driving tour along the Dixie Highway that may have started in the 1920s and connects Dalton to Calhoun, GA.

I can imagine it might have been lovely during the 1920s before deforestation. 

 

 

 

We enjoyed the vibe, soundtrack, and drinks at Lo-Fi Coffee Bar and Dalton Brewing Company.

 

 

 

 

I have seen this in other cities, but will always think of Ybor City and Tampa clubs first. 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped by to check out the Robert T Webb Sculpture Garden that surrounds the Guild’s parking lot.

 

 

Statues of various sizes, materials, and themes fill this park in between robust trees and shrubs. 

 

 

HAIG MILL LAKE PARK is a expansive park inside a largely residential area that has beautiful views of the Haig Mill Lake and creek.  

 

DALTON’S BRIGHT FUTURE
Some exciting news about Dalton is that it is becoming a leader in solar industry after Hanwha Qcells (one of the largest panel producers in the world) opened a manufacturing plant in Dalton. Nearly 1,000 are employed there and the facility is currently the largest of its kind in the Western hemisphere.

Dalton’s incredible production volume has not gone unnoticed, with more companies honing in. Will the “Flooring Capital of the World” earn a new name soon?

NEW ECHOTA HISTORIC SITE 
Located between Dalton and Calhoun, the New Echota Historic Site is one of the most significant of the Cherokee Nation, and this was where the tragic Trail of Tears officially began.

I am working on a separate blog about this and will add a link when it is finished.

CALHOUN
Calhoun was first named Oothcaloga meaning “place of the beaver dams.” It is located in the heart of what was the Cherokee Nation, where the Oostanaula River meets Oothkalooga Creek. I am not sure why both spellings are in continued use. 

After the white folk settled Oothcaloga in 1829, they named it Dawsonville, incorporated in 1852, then renamed it in 1860 after the former US Vice President John C. Calhoun.

Calhoun’s original depot, Oothcaloga Depot, was the site of a major Civil War battle.

In 1889 Calhoun got its first brick paved streets and two new parks opened downtown; a Ladies’ Park and a Gentlemen’s Park.

The Calhoun Woman’s Club formed and began several initiatives like building the town’s first public library and having a women’s restroom built in the Ladies’ Park because apparently the men did not think of that. 

Today, Calhoun has over 20,000 people in about 16 square miles. 

You can visit several historically significant sites like the Oakleigh House maintained by the Gordon County Historical Society, Roland Hayes Museum, the nearby Resaca Battlefield Historic Site, and the junk oddity that is Sam’s Treehouse.

The Gem Theatre was built in 1927 and was Georgia’s only indoor movie house until the 1970s.

Eventually it fell into disrepair but was purchased and renovated in 2001. It is still an active theatre, performance stage, and event venue.

Harris Arts Center and Calhoun Performing Arts Center is another hot spot for entertainment.

Calhoun Park is tiny but has a cute water fountain in the center that sort of reminds me of the famous Pineapple Fountain in Charleston.

Look out for this whimsical music sculpture in one corner.

Calhoun Coffee serves up a great decaf latte, but it is actually more of a restaurant.

On one side there is a cozy botanical bar area and, on the other, a larger but plain dining area with a kids play area and small stage. A singer songwriter was belting out tunes over the noise of yelling kids, boisterous conversations, and dishes clattering.

It felt like a little too much going on at the same time, at the wrong time, but it was lunch hour on a Saturday and I was hangry.

We had a turkey chipotle panini, chicken tendies, and Cajun-seasoned fries; all delicious.

Heavale Brewing appears to be Calhoun’s primary night time destination. Next door is a pizza pub, there is plentiful parking, and it all faces away from the main road through town. 

Walk along Wall Street and the side streets near the courthouse to view the downtown shops, and be on the lookout for a few murals.

CALHOUN ROCK GARDEN
The Calhoun Rock Garden is south of downtown, in the backyard of a Seventh-Day Adventist church. 

The garden is free to enter and boasts over 50 mini castles, towers, and cathedral churches constructed out of tiny rocks, sea shells, sea glass, bits and pieces of stained glass, ceramic, and other items. 

It is very Jesus-y when you first enter, but keep going past the signage and it starts to feel magickal and surreal. 

The trail leads to a wide, shallow creek near the back edge of the garden.

Aside from it being a unique and treasured attraction that was built by members of the church to serve the glory of the lord, I was not able to acquire any details of a big back story. Just enjoy these photos.

There is even a mini Colosseum of Rome!

ROME
Speaking of Rome, the city of Rome, Georgia is about 20 minutes from Calhoun and its downtown is the largest Victorian district in the state. This Rome was founded as such in 1834 and has around 38k living there now.

Like the Italian Rome, Georgia’s Rome also has a similar seven-hill topography. The hills are even named; Clocktower, Blossom, Myrtle, Lumpkin, Jackson, Mt. Aventine, and Old Shorter.

Rome, GA is situated on the confluence of the Oostanaula and Etowah rivers, which converge and are then known as the Coosa River.

The city proudly showcases sixteen public gardens and is recognized as both a Bee City USA and a Tree City USA location.

Broad Street, its main thoroughfare, used to be a horse track and that explains why it is the second widest Main Street in the state of Georgia. This could also explain why the historic downtown Between the Rivers District is the largest Victorian-era district still standing in Georgia.  

Ma Rainey is one of the most influential Blues singers of all time, and a personal favourite of mine. Her most famous songs include the beloved Queer anthem “Prove It On Me Blues” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” which inspired the name of a Midwestern burlesque troupe my friend and I founded lifetimes ago. 

Rainey was born in Columbus, Georgia but later moved to Rome after retiring from the stage and touring. She opened two theatres and invested heavily into the town, but sadly died of a heart attack in 1939. You can visit the Ma Rainey House & Museum in Columbus, and watch the film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom starring Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman.

Dr. John Pemberton, a native Roman, invented a beverage that was first known as “Pemberton’s French Wine Coca” but later became Coca-Cola.  

Rome was once the second-highest stove manufacturing site, rivaled only by Cincinnati, with five separate stove foundries. You can read more about Rome’s History at the Rome Area History Center

You may quickly notice a large clock tower in the distance as you arrive in Rome. This 1872 City Clocktower stands at 104 feet tall and was originally the city’s water reservoir, holding up to 250,000 at any given time.

The Courthouse is an attractive historic building as well, but what interests me most about it is the replica of the Capitoline Wolf statue in its courtyard.

Turns out that a major Italian rayon plant called Chatillon Corporation Silk Mills of Milan relocated to Rome in the 1920s, so Mussolini sent a replica of the statue which follows a tradition of gifting Capitoline Wolves.

This cool but somewhat goofy looking depiction of Romulus and Remus nursing from the Wolf Mother was a thank you present and a gesture to solidify the connection between the two Romes. 

Fun fact: another Capitoline Wolf statue was sent to Cincinnati, my old stomping grounds, which makes the second connection between Rome and Cincy in this blog alone.

Several Hollywood films have been fully or partially filmed in Rome including Sweet Home Alabama, Remember the Titans, Dutch, Identity Thief, Need for Speed, Black Widow, a surprising number of indie horror films and documentaries, and a few episodes of various popular television series.

Stranger Things is by far the most famousshow filmed in Rome, and the city has produced a Stranger Things of Rome Tour for fans. I have to admit I was reluctant to start a series about kids and teens but as they grew up, I became emotionally invested and I wept my soul out when Mike put his binder up on the shelf for the last time.

What a deep sadness to watch an entire generation grow up and step toward their futures, full of hope and optimism, knowing what we know now. Oh, I digress.

BERRY COLLEGE is where parts of Sweet Home Alabama and Remember the Titans were filmed.

Berry is most famous for having the world’s largest contiguous college campus, a massive territory of more than 27,000 acres that shows off European architecture and the World’s Largest Overshot Water Wheel.

MYRTLE HILL CEMETERY
Looking out over the city of Rome from skyscraping hills, Myrtle Hill Cemetery has a few celebrities of its own like and Ellen Axon Wilson and the Tomb of the Known Soldier, Private Charles W. Graves. 

The three highest of Rome’s seven hills; Myrtle, Lumpkin, and Mt. Aventine, were chosen to keep the dearly departed elevated above the town’s frequent flooding. 

Myrtle Hill Cemetery was established in 1857 across 32 acres and is the final resting place for more than 20,000 individuals.

Myrtle Hill Cemetery features a Veteran’s Memorial, Confederate Cemetery, and a Mediation Garden.

Ellen Axson Wilson was the first wife of President Woodrow Wilson. She is buried there and a statue of her is located at the end of the Chief John Ross Memorial Bridge.

There has been a lot of due controversary and speaking out against celebrating Confederate figures or anything to do with racism and enslavement, which has also led to a high number of vandalism incidents at Murtle Hill.

I stand in favour of removing such memorials, but there are and will always be people in this country that avidly celebrate everything their Confederate forefathers fought for, no matter how awful some of it was.

One thing I really loved finding in Myrtle Hill Cemetery is this hand-carved statue on one of the grave sites.

Walking and driving through this cemetery may be a little daunting for those with older or smaller cars, or mobility and balance issues.

CHIEFTANS MUSEUM & MAJOR RIDGE HOME
Major Ridge was a Cherokee leader who played a vital role in local history, and his family worked as merchants and ferry operators. He was the original owner of this 223-acre home which provided shelter and support for Native Americans and Enslaved people.

Ridge’s home was where the council of the Treaty of New Echota met in 1835, a very dark moment for the Cherokee people that helped set the Trail of Tears in motion. Ridge’s defense in facilitating the signing of the Treaty was that he knew Death was imminent for his people so selling the lands and agreeing to move was their only hope of survival.

He and his relatives were murdered in 1839, shortly after the Treaty was signed, and the murders have long been blamed on members of the Cherokee tribe who wanted to retaliate.

When in Rome, be sure to walk the length of Broad Street and check out Harvest Moon Cafe & Dark Side of the Moon Bar, Cosmic Dog Outpost Beer Garden, Clock Tower & Museum, Carnegie Library/building, Swift & Finch Coffee, and any of the other great shops Rome has to offer.

You can also make the quick trip to the family-friendly cave and natural spring in Cave Springs.

CARTERSVILLE
Cartersville has around 26,000 in a little over 29 square miles, and is known for its trails and outdoor recreation options and a high concentration of museums.

Georgia’s “Museum City” has a diverse selection of museums to choose from like the Etowah Indian Mounds, Savoy Automobile Museum, Old Car City USA, Tellus Science Museum, Booth Western Art Museum, the Victorian Roselawn Museum, and Bartow History Museum.

There is also a self-guided tour of Bartow County’s African American history and significant sites like the George Washington Carver State Park, Noble Hill-Wheeler Memorial Center, and the Euharlee Black Pioneer Cemetery. Click here to view the official trail brochure. 

Cartersville is also home to one of the benches, the 27th actually, from part of the Toni Morrison Society‘s The Bench by the Road Project. 

ETOWAH INDIAN MOUNDS
The Etwoah Indian Mounds State Park sits on a 54-acre territory that was home to several thousand Native Americans from 1,000-1,550 CE. 

Its star feature is a collection of six earthen mountains but it also has a village and various battle-related structures. Some of these mounds reach over 60 feet tall and were used for both burials and rituals. 

You can walk a trail along the Etowah River and read various infographics about the culture and history of the Indigenous people that once lived there.

Inside the park’s museum, you will find a collection of historic jewelry and accessories worn by them, tools they made and used, hand-carved stone effigies, and other artifacts. 

SAVOY AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM
My brother is a serious gearhead and taking him to as many automobile museums, car shows, aviation centers, farm equipment displays, and monster truck exhibits as I can has become a life mission for me.

My most recent visit to North Georgia included taking him by the Savoy Automobile Museum, a museum with a goal to “connect people to the cultural diversity of the automobile.”

He had a fantastic pouring over every detail of each car in the exhibits and info dumping on me in between, and I was just happy to see him do it.

I enjoyed perusing the sassy auto and travel themed art gallery even more than drooling over the cars. 

OLD CAR CITY USA
Well this was a weird find, and that says a lot coming from me.

After visiting the Savoy, we jaunted over to Old Car City USA which I thought was just a little junkyard with a gift shop. Nope. 

The entrance is a gift shop, souvenir shop, and art gallery that contains their “Largest Cup Art Accumulation” and other interesting pieces.

There are around seven miles of trails that wind through 30+ acres, packed on all sides with more than 4,000 classic cars, junk sculptures, cars up in trees, and the like.

Old Car City USA has been featured in countless news and medias sources, and you can watch a video about it here.

I have my mind set on returning soon to visit the nearby town of Bartow, the Funk Heritage Center in Waleska, Lake Allatoona in Red Top Mountain State Park, and the “Covered Bridge City” of Euharlee. Until then…

In the area for a while? Follow me to some of north Georgia’s other beautiful towns like Blue Ridge, McCaysville, Ellijay, Blairsville, Dahlonega, Helen, and Rabun County.

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