Acworth is a city in

Cobb County Cobb County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia, and is a core county of the Atlanta metropolitan area in the north-central portion of the state. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 766,149. It is the state's third most populous cou ...

, Georgia, United States. It is part of the

Atlanta metropolitan area Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell metropolitan statistical area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the sixt ...

. As of the 2020 census, this city had a population of 22,440, up from 20,425 in 2010. Acworth is located in the foothills of the North Georgia mountains along the southeastern banks of Lake Acworth and

Lake Allatoona Lake Allatoona (officially called Allatoona Lake) is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Etowah River in northwestern part of the State of Georgia. This reservoir is mostly in southeastern Bartow County and southwestern Cherokee C ...

on the

Etowah River The Etowah River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 waterway that rises northwest of Dahlonega, Georgia, Dahlonega, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, ...

. Unincorporated areas known as Acworth extend into Bartow,

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

, and Paulding counties. Acworth is often referred to as "the Lake City" because of its proximity to Lake Allatoona and Lake Acworth.

History

Like the rest of Cobb County, the area now containing Acworth was carved out of the former

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...

in 1831 after the natives were expelled. The

Western and Atlantic Railroad The Western & Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia (W&A) is a railroad owned by the State of Georgia and currently leased by CSX, which CSX operates in the Southeastern United States from Atlanta, Georgia, to Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was f ...

was completed through town in 1840. A watering station for the locomotives was established there. The town received its current name in 1843 from Western & Atlantic Railroad

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

Joseph L. Gregg, who named it for his hometown of

Acworth, New Hampshire Acworth is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 853. History Originally chartered by colonial governor Benning Wentworth in 1752, it was called "Burnet" after William ...

, which was named for the former Royal Navy Surveyor Sir Jacob Acworth. Telegraph lines reached the town in 1851. A private school was opened for white students in 1852. A newer private school operated from 1899 to 1935, when they integrated with the

Cobb County School District The Cobb County School District (CCSD) is the school district which operates public schools in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. The school district includes all of Cobb County except for the Marietta City Schools, though a number of sch ...

. Until 1935, high school students from Acworth paid tuition to attend. Students outside the town were subsidized by the Cobb County School Board. Black students were educated separately in a grammar school. The closest Black high school was in Atlanta. Later, students were bused by the county to a segregated school in Marietta. Acworth was incorporated on December 1, 1860. Volunteers to fight in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

enlisted in what became Company A ("Acworth Infantry") in the

18th Georgia Volunteer Infantry The 18th Georgia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Originally brigaded with the three Texas regiments of John Bell Hood's Texas Brigade, it was transferred to Thomas R.R. Cobb's G ...

and Company C ("Invincibles") in the 41st Georgia Volunteer Infantry. The town was captured by the Union on June 6, 1864. The city was called "Little Shanty" by the Union troops, to contrast it with the next town south, "Big Shanty", since renamed Kennesaw. The town was under

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

during the six months of occupation. On November 13, 1864, the town was burned down by the army of General W. T. Sherman, sparing 12 homes and one church; its citizens were left destitute. The town had nearly recovered by the 1880s.

Cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

farming in the area peaked from the 1890s through the 1920s. Low prices during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

resulted in a cessation of cotton farming in the area and throughout Cobb County. During

segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of human ...

, the railroad tracks served as a racial divide, with

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

s living to the northeast of the tracks and the whites to the southwest. There were few common public events. When a movie theater was erected in the 1930s, Blacks were allowed to access the balcony from a separate entrance. Whites sat on the main floor. Volunteers formed a fire department in 1907. There were eventually three textile mills in town from 1905 through the 1980s. They employed about 800 workers at their peak. In 1926, Main Street was paved. When the entire

Dixie Highway Dixie Highway was a United States auto trail first planned in 1914 to connect the Midwest with the South. It was part of a system and was expanded from an earlier Miami to Montreal highway. The final system is better understood as a network o ...

(old

U.S. Route 41 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miam ...

and part of the Cherokee Peachtree Trail) was paved in 1929, over 800 tourist vehicles entered the city daily. When the Etowah River was dammed, forming Lake Allatoona, citizens feared that land near the town would become a swamp. They successfully petitioned for a second dam, resulting in Lake Acworth in the 1950s. This became a tourist attraction. The town made a major improvement in its water and sewage lines in the late 1940s. The city elected its first woman mayor, Mary McCall, in 1956 and 1961–66. African-American students were schooled separately from white children until 1967. Acworth was recognized as a 2010

All-America City Award The All-America City Award is a community recognition program in the United States given by the National Civic League. The award recognizes the work of communities in using inclusive civic engagement to address critical issues and create stron ...

winner by the

National Civic League The National Civic League is an American nonpartisan, non-profit organization founded in 1894 as the "National Municipal League”; it adopted its new name in 1986. Its mission is to advance civic engagement to create equitable, thriving communit ...

. In 2011, the filming of several scenes for the ''Footloose'' remake took place in downtown Acworth. The Acworth Presbyterian Church was used as the primary church, and the house of Mayor Tommy Allegood was used as

Julianne Hough Julianne Alexandra Hough (; born July 20, 1988) is an American dancer, singer, actress and television personality. In 2007, she joined the cast of ABC's ''Dancing with the Stars'' as a professional dancer, winning two seasons with her celebrit ...

's character's home. In 2017, the city was the site of the WWA

Wakeboarding Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard (a board with foot bindings), is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboarding ...

National Championship.

Geography

Acworth is located in the foothills of the

North Georgia mountains Northeast Georgia is a region of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia in the United States. The northern part is also in the North Georgia mountains or Georgia mountain region, while the southern part (east of metro Atlanta) is still hilly but much fla ...

along the southeastern banks of Lake Acworth and

on the

. It is bordered by the city of Kennesaw to the southeast and by Bartow and

counties to the north.

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

runs through the northern part of the city in Cherokee and Bartow counties, with access from exits 277 and 278. Via I-75,

downtown Atlanta Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The largest of the city's three commercial districts (Midtown Atlanta, Midtown and Buckhead being the others), it is the location of many corporate and region ...

is southeast, and

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

, is northwest.

and

Georgia State Route 92 State Route 92 (SR 92) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its southern terminus is an intersection with US 19 Bus./ US 41 Bus./ SR 16 in Griffin. Its northern terminus is an intersection with SR 9 ...

also run through the city, with GA-92 leading east to

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

, and south to Hiram. US-41 runs to the west of the city, leading southeast to Kennesaw, Georgia and northwest to Cartersville. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 6.05%, is water. Unincorporated areas considered Acworth for mailing purposes extend into southeast Bartow County, southwest Cherokee County, and northeast Paulding County. Some of the incorporated portions of Acworth east of Nance Road and Acworth Due West Road have a Kennesaw mailing address.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 22,440 people, 8,337 households, and 5,470 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,422 people, 5,194 households, and 3,589 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 5,453 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 79.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 12.6%

, 0.2% Native American, 2.3% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 3.2% from other races, and 2.00% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino people of any race were 6.05% of the population. There were 5,194 households, out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.08. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.0% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 41.0% from 25 to 44, 15.7% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.

Government

The city is governed by a five-member Board of Aldermen, who serve staggered four-year terms. The mayor is elected to four-year terms. An unusual ordinance once required all citizens to own a

rake Rake may refer to: Common meanings * Rake (tool), a horticultural implement, a long-handled tool with tines * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (poker), the commission taken by the house when hosting a poker game ...

. This ordinance was enacted shortly after the neighboring city of Kennesaw, Georgia ordered every homeowner to own a gun in 1982. The requirement to own a rake is no longer in effect. The city maintains ten public parks: Acworth Sports Complex, Baker Plantation, Dallas Landing, East Lakeshore, Frana Brown, Logan Farm, Newberry, Overlook, Proctor Landing, and South Shore.

Education

Public education in Acworth is handled by the

. Public schools include: * Acworth Elementary School * Baker Elementary School * Ford Elementary School * Frey Elementary School * McCall Primary School * Pickett's Mill Elementary School * Pitner Elementary School * Barber Middle School * Durham Middle School * Allatoona High School * North Cobb High School Private schools include: * North Cobb Christian School

Transportation

Major roads

The main route through the center of Acworth is Main Street, a two-lane road. It is known as "Old 41" as it was formerly the route for

US 41 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part i ...

. State Route 92 and the new Highway 41 pass through the southern part of the city. The newly built Seven Hills Connector connects South Acworth to Paulding County. Bells Ferry Road goes through Acworth, Kennesaw, Marietta, and Woodstock.

Pedestrians and cycling

* Acworth Trail * Graves Path

Notable people

Johnny Archer Johnny Archer (born November 12, 1968) is an American professional pool player. He is nicknamed "the Scorpion" (his zodiac sign is Scorpio). He is a two time World Nine-ball Champion & won a record 5 Sands Regency 9-Ball Open titles. In 2009, ...

, professional pool player and

Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame This is the list of people inducted into the Billiard Congress of America's hall of fame to honor outstanding people who, through their competitive skills and dedication, have enriched the sport and industry. Two categories have been established in ...

inductee *

Jason Bohn Jason Duehn Bohn (born April 24, 1973) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour. He won two PGA Tour events. Amateur career Bohn was born in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. In 1992, while a sophomore on the Alabama golf team, Bohn ...

, professional golfer *

Angie Bowie Mary Angela Barnett (born September 25, 1949), also known as Angie Bowie, is an American model, actress, and journalist. Alongside her ex-husband David Bowie, she influenced the glam rock culture and fashion of the 1970s. She was married to Bo ...

, former actress/model and ex-wife of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

* Warren Creavalle, professional soccer player *

Robby Ginepri Robert Louis Ginepri ( ; born October 7, 1982) is an American former professional tennis player. He won three ATP singles titles in his career and achieved a career-high ranking of World No. 15 in December 2005. Ginepri's best Grand Slam result ...

, former professional tennis player *

Grant Henry Grant Henry, aka Sister Louisa, (born 1956) is an American former Divinity (academic discipline), divinity student, artist, and businessman based in Atlanta, Georgia. He is best known for his artwork and installations created as his alter ego "Si ...

, artist and businessman * Scotti Madison, former professional baseball player *

Jordan Matthews Jordan Armand Matthews (born July 16, 1992) is an American professional football tight end. He played college football for the Vanderbilt Commodores and was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft. Matthew ...

, soccer player *

Larry Nelson Larry Gene Nelson (born September 10, 1947) is an American professional golfer. He has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level. Early life and amateur career Nelson was born in Fort Payne, Alabama and grew up in ...

, former professional golfer and

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame was, until recently, located at World Golf Village between Jacksonville, Florida and St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States. It is unusual amongst sports halls of fame in that a single site honored both men ...

inductee * Bronson Rechsteiner, professional wrestler *

Bobby Reynolds Robert Thomas "Bobby" Reynolds (born July 17, 1982) is an American retired professional tennis player who resides in Auburn, Alabama. He was named head men's tennis coach at Auburn University in June 2016. Professional career Reynolds, a nati ...

, former professional tennis player and current

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) a ...

tennis coach *

Ranger Ross } Robert Lee Ross Jr. (born July 15, 1959) is an American former professional wrestler and former United States Army Ranger known by his ring name, Ranger Ross. Ross is best known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and World Champi ...

, former professional wrestler * Clarke Schmidt, professional baseball player * Musa Smith, former NFL running back *

Rick Steiner Robert Rechsteiner (born March 9, 1961) is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Rick Steiner. Steiner is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he wa ...

, former professional wrestler * Darren Waller, NFL tight end * Raleigh Webb, NFL player for the New England Patriots *

Aiden Zhane Aiden Zhane is the stage name of Devin LaMar Lewis, an American drag performer most known for competing on the twelfth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. Early life Zhane was born in Howell and raised in Cohoctah, Michigan. She later moved to ...

, ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' Season 12 contestant

References

External links

City of Acworth official website

City of Acworth official tourism website

Acworth, Georgia Photographs and Clippings, 1840-2018
from th
Save Acworth History Foundation collectionKennesaw State University Archives
{{Authority control Cities in the Atlanta metropolitan area Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Cobb County, Georgia