Rome

About RomeRome's name is apt, for like its Italian counterpart it is built upon seven hills. The city was founded in 1834 when three men stopped to provide water for their horses where the Etowah and Oostanaula rivers become the Coosa River. The men laid out a townsite and drew a name for it from a hat.

Rome's importance to the Confederacy as a rail and manufacturing center led to the 1863 ride of John Wisdom. Wearing out five horses and a mule in 11 hours, Wisdom rode 67 miles from Alabama to Rome to warn of an impending Union attack. A giant cannon lathe atop Civic Center Hill survived even Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman. Marks made by the sledgehammers of Union soldiers who tried to destroy it can be seen on the lathe's sides.

There are other reminders of the past, including Boswell Cabin, a mid-19th-century log house; a cotton gin next to the lathe; and Myrtle Hill Cemetery that contains 368 Confederate and Union graves and those of two of Rome's founders. Ellen Louise Axson Wilson, wife of President Woodrow Wilson, also is buried in this cemetery. A map of the 40 types of trees in the cemetery is available from the Rome-Floyd Visitor Center (402 Civic Center Dr.) and the Downtown Welcome Center (300 W. 1st St.). Atop the water tower on another of the city's seven hills is the Old Town Clock, dating from 1871.

Early 20th-century houses and commercial buildings can be seen in downtown Rome along Broad Street. In front of City Hall is the Capitoline Wolf, a bronze replica of the Roman statue depicting a she-wolf nursing Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome, Italy. It was given to the city by the Italian government in 1929.

Visitor Centers Rome-Floyd Visitor Center 402 Civic Center Dr. Rome, GA 30161. Phone:(706)295-5576 or (800)444-1834

Things to Do Chieftains Museum/Major Ridge Home

Oak Hill and the Martha Berry Museum

Rome Area History Museum