Before joining the Darlington Community in October, I had the pleasure of working for the Greater Rome Convention & Visitors Bureau marketing our town to potential visitors and conference groups. Through working the telephone in the Caboose at the Visitor Center, hanging out with historians, producing videos, conducting tours, doing lots of reading and...well, you name it...I learned more about Rome than any free brochure could ever hold.
When prospective students, parents and employees are considering Darlington, they always want to know more about the community in which our beautiful campus sits. Discovering Rome and Floyd County's history, culture and geography is helpful in understanding more about Darlington's own unique niche in this fair southern town, and most certainly vice versa.
Sit back for some fun facts and random trivia about Rome and Floyd County, and Darlington’s inextricable link to the rich heritage and history where the rivers meet and the mountains begin.
1) Tourism is big business in Rome. In 2013 alone [the most recent year for which figures are available] over $129.04 million was generated as a result of tourism-related expenditures. This includes lodging, meals at local restaurants, shopping, meetings and conventions, sports championships, and various other expenses. Darlington has always been a strong community partner, helping contribute to hotel/motel nights and Rome's tourism base. In the 2013-14 school year alone, Darlington's total estimated economic impact to the community was over $70 million. These figures include tourism-generated dollars, payroll, money spent by residential students at local businesses, and more...not bad for our small town!
.jpg)
2) Rome has seven named hills centered around the downtown area: Blossom, Clocktower, Jackson, Lumpkin, Mt. Aventine, Myrtle and Old Shorter. Three of these serve as the final resting place for Rome’s dearly departed.
3) Rome’s forefathers met at Home-on-the-Hill (then known as "Alhambra") to name the new city in 1834. Built in 1832 by Major Philip Walker Hemphill, Home-on-the-Hill/Alhambra is said to be the oldest private residence in Floyd County. (It is now part of the Darlington campus and serves as the home of the head of school.) The other part of the story is very interesting—Rome was one of several names literally pulled from a hat. Our town was almost christened Hamburg, among several other choices suggested by our founding fathers.
4) Berry College boasts the world's largest contiguous college campus at over 26,000 acres. Martha Berry’s story in and of itself is amazing, but the vastness of the school’s land holdings are further emphasized with the prolific deer population and families of bald eagles.
5) Rome is full of wonderful sights and attractions, including Downtown Rome and the Between-the-Rivers Historic District, Myrtle Hill Cemetery, Oak Hill & The Martha Berry Museum and Berry College, the Labyrinth of Rome, Chieftains Museum, and so much more!
6) Rome's Broad Street is the second widest main street in Georgia after Augusta, and has received a variety of accolades. Broad Street has been named by Travel + Leisure as one of "America's Greatest Main Streets," and just last year, USA Today named it to a list of "Idyllic and Historic Main Streets Across the USA."
7) Downtown Rome was slightly raised following a history of flooding. While the myth of an "Underground Rome" is a little far-fetched, you will notice networks of levees throughout the area, as well as locks in certain places to keep out water should the levels get too high. In April 1886, the water got so high that there were canoes and boats over Broad Street!
8) The Coosa River is a part of the most biodiverse ecosystem in North America. The river begins at the confluence of the Etowah and Oostanaula rivers in Downtown Rome, and boasts nearly 40 different species of wildlife found only in the Coosa River Basin!
9) Eco-tourism continues to grow in Rome and Floyd County with the addition of more trails and better-connected trail systems, river recreation, and an overall renewed emphasis on our town’s natural resources. Darlington’s campus alone has over six miles of trails!
10) Rome has the oldest continually performing symphony in the southeast. The Rome Symphony Orchestra was formed in 1921, and among other concerts, plays a special summer performance on Darlington’s campus each June.
11) Rome has an abundance of talented local artists. I had the pleasure of meeting all kinds of interesting locals and transplants with the creative eye at various special events and festivals. We have so many talented potters, photographers, writers and crafters of all kinds...right here in Rome!
12) The Darlington campus is located on what was formerly known as DeSoto Park (also, Mobley Park). The park was named for Spanish explorer and conquistador Hernando de Soto, who came through the area in 1540 searching for gold, silver, and a route to China.
13) Floyd County is a hotbed of Cherokee Indian history. In fact, the Native Americans gave the area the nickname by which it is still known today—“the Enchanted Land.” One of our most famous Cherokee residents was Major Ridge, one of the signers of the controversial Treaty of New Echota that removed the Native Americans from their land.
14) General William Tecumseh Sherman came through Rome on his famous March to the Sea, and actually stayed in Downtown Rome. Nothing is really left from his fateful visit...you might say that things got a little "heated" right after he moved southward.
15) The Rome-Floyd Visitor Center can answer just about any question you have about the area. No kidding. The helpful staff there is primed and ready for just about anything that comes their way, and have a wealth of free information.
**I'd like to add an honorary #16 to this list: I also found out while working for Rome's tourism office that a Clocktower (our city symbol) can truly be added to just about any item: mugs, t-shirts, writing utensils, ornaments, jewelry—Scrabble tiles, windsocks—everything.
Joining the Darlington family and learning more about the school's role in shaping our community's leaders has helped me to really see and admire the interconnectivity of the different facets of this great town.
Working in local tourism gave me a stronger appreciation for the place that has become my adopted hometown—the Rome that welcomed me with open arms when I, too, was just a visitor.
Click here for more information on attractions, hotels, restaurants, economic impact figures and tourism in Rome and Floyd County.
