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Acworth
Downtown Acworth
Downtown Acworth
Motto(s): 
The Lake City
Location in Cobb County and the state of Georgia
Location in Cobb County and the state of Georgia
Acworth, Georgia is located in Georgia (U.S. state)
Acworth, Georgia
Acworth, Georgia
Location in Georgia (U.S. state)
Acworth, Georgia is located in the United States
Acworth, Georgia
Acworth, Georgia
Location in the United States
Acworth, Georgia is located in North America
Acworth, Georgia
Acworth, Georgia
Location in North America
Country United States
State Georgia
County Cobb
Incorporated 1840
Area
 • Total 9.79 sq mi (25.36 km2)
 • Land 9.09 sq mi (23.54 km2)
 • Water 0.70 sq mi (1.81 km2)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 22,440
 • Density 2,468.65/sq mi (953.11/km2)
Time zone UTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
30101, 30102
Area codes 770/678/470 (678 Exchanges:439,574) (770 Exchanges:529,917,966,974,975)
FIPS code 13-00408

Acworth is a city in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. The 2019 estimate for Acworth's population is 22,818. As of the 2010 census, this city had a population of 20,425, up from 13,422 in 2000. Acworth is located in the foothills of the North Georgia mountains along the southeastern banks of Lake Acworth and Lake Allatoona on the Etowah River. Unincorporated areas known as Acworth extend into Bartow, Cherokee and Paulding counties.

Acworth's is often referred to as "the Lake City" because of its proximity to Lake Allatoona and Lake Acworth.

History

Acworth Georgia City Hall
Acworth City Hall

Like the rest of Cobb County, the area now containing Acworth was carved out of the former Cherokee Nation in 1831, after expelling the natives.

The Western and Atlantic Railroad 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 Joseph L. Gregg, who named it for his hometown of Acworth, New Hampshire, 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. 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 enlisted in what became Company A ("Acworth Infantry") in the 18th Georgia Volunteer Infantry and Company C ("Invincibles") in the 41st Georgia Volunteer Infantry.

The town was captured by the Union 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 during the six months of occupation. On November 13, 1864, the town was burned down by the army of General W. T. Sherman, sparing twelve homes and one church; its citizens were left destitute.

The town had nearly recovered by the 1880s. Cotton farming in the area peaked from the 1890s through the 1920s. Low prices during the Great Depression resulted in a cessation of cotton farming in the area and throughout Cobb County.

During segregation, the railroad tracks served as a racial divide, with African Americans 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 a total of 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 (old U.S. Route 41 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.

African-American students were schooled separately from white children until 1967.

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's character's home.

Geography

Acworth is located in the foothills of the North Georgia mountains along the southeastern banks of Lake Acworth and Lake Allatoona on the Etowah River. It is bordered by the city of Kennesaw to the southeast and by Bartow and Cherokee counties to the north.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.8 square miles (22.7 km2), of which 8.3 square miles (21.4 km2) is land and 0.54 square miles (1.4 km2), 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

Historical population
Census Pop.
1880 633
1890 815 28.8%
1900 937 15.0%
1910 1,043 11.3%
1920 1,117 7.1%
1930 1,163 4.1%
1940 1,267 8.9%
1950 1,466 15.7%
1960 2,359 60.9%
1970 3,929 66.6%
1980 3,648 −7.2%
1990 4,519 23.9%
2000 13,422 197.0%
2010 20,425 52.2%
2020 22,440 9.9%
U.S. Decennial Census

2020 census

Acworth racial composition
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 11,260 50.18%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 5,803 25.86%
Native American 39 0.17%
Asian 920 4.1%
Pacific Islander 5 0.02%
Other/Mixed 1,168 5.2%
Hispanic or Latino 3,245 14.46%

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

Education

Public education in Acworth is handled by the Cobb County School District.

Public schools include:

  • Acworth Elementary School
  • Baker Elementary School
  • Ford Elementary School
  • Frey Elementary 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:

  • Sunbrook Academy at Governors Towne Club

Transportation

CSX Train in Acworth, GA Feb 2020 2
A CSX train passing through downtown Acworth

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. 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, professional pool player and Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame inductee
  • Jason Bohn, professional golfer
  • Angie Bowie, former actress/model and ex-wife of David Bowie
  • Warren Creavalle, professional soccer player
  • Robby Ginepri, former professional tennis player
  • Grant Henry, artist and businessman
  • Scotti Madison, former professional baseball player
  • Jordan Matthews, soccer player
  • Larry Nelson, former professional golfer and World Golf Hall of Fame inductee
  • Bronson Rechsteiner, professional wrestler
  • Bobby Reynolds, former professional tennis player and current Auburn Tigers tennis coach
  • Ranger Ross, former professional wrestler
  • Clarke Schmidt, professional baseball player
  • Musa Smith, former NFL running back
  • Rick Steiner, former professional wrestler
  • Scott Steiner, former professional wrestler
  • Aiden Zhane, RuPaul's Drag Race Season 12 contestant

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Acworth para niños

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