Roswell,_Georgia

Roswell, Georgia

Roswell is a city located in northern Fulton County, Georgia. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 79,334. Census Estimates of 2006 show a population of 87,807. Residents of Roswell are referred to as Roswellians. A branch of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, a member of the National Park Service, is located in Roswell at Vickery Creek.

Quick Facts

The City of Roswell was founded by Roswell King, who came from St. Simons Island, GA in 1836. He established the Roswell Manufacturing Company and built a textile mill to harness the power of Vickery Creek. By building the mill in the Piedmont, he had it close to supplies of cotton.

Roswell was incorporated on February 16, 1854. Union Soldiers occupied Roswell from July 5 – July 17, 1864 on their march to Atlanta. The Roswell Manufacturing Company mill was destroyed by fire twice. In 1864 Union General W.T. Sherman ordered soldiers to torch the mill. Lightning caused the second fire.

Telephone service came to Roswell in 1901. All phone numbers were one digit. The first traffic signal was not installed until 1949, at the intersection of Sloan and Atlanta streets for $436.40. Today there are 93 traffic signals in the City.

President Theodore Roosevelt’s family tree branches back to Roswell. Teddy’s mother, Martha (Mittie) Bulloch was born at Bulloch Hall. She was the daughter of Major James Stephen Bulloch, one of the town's first families. Mittie’s son Elliot Roosevelt became the father of Eleanor, who would marry President Franklin D. Roosevelt (a distant cousin).

Roswell is now Georgia’s eighth largest city, but its major growth has happened in just the last fifteen years.

Population

Year	Population
1870	479
1880	1,180
1920	1,316
1940	1,622
1950	2,123
1980	23,337
1990	48,257
2000	79,334
2003	82,714

Roswell has 18 parks with 800 acres of active and passive parkland and facilities.

The City Hall building was completed in 1991 at a cost of $12 million.

The city has been chosen twice by Atlanta Magazine as the best place to live in the Metro-Atlanta area. The Georgia Municipal Association awarded the Roswell the City of Excellence Award in 2003. Roswell has been ranked one of the safest cities to live in the United States according to City Crime Rankings.

History

In 1830, while on a trip to North Georgia, Roswell King passed through the area of what is now Roswell and observed the great potential for building a cotton mill along Vickery (Big) Creek. Since the land nearby was also good for plantations, his idea was to put cotton processing near cotton production.

Toward the middle of the 1830s, King returned to build a mill that would soon become the largest in North Georgia. He brought with him 36 enslaved African-Americans from his own coastal plantation, plus another 42 slaves bought at Darien on the coast. He used the slaves to build the mill, infrastructure, houses, mill worker apartments, and supporting buildings for the new town. The African-Americans brought their unique Geechee culture, language, and religious traditions from the coast to north Georgia.

King invited other coastal planters to join him at the new location. He was also joined by Barrington King, one of his sons, who succeeded his father in the manufacturing company. Archibald Smith and Major James Stephen Bulloch were among the leading planters who migrated there to establish new plantations, bringing enslaved African Americans from the coastal areas. The Barrington King, Smith and Bulloch antebellum houses have been preserved and restored. According to the 1850 Slave Schedules, these three planters, together with the next three largest planters, held 192 slaves, 51% of the total 378 slaves held in Roswell District. Archibald Smith had a 300-acre cotton plantation. Barrington King held 70 slaves. He likely directed their labor both for mill construction and plantation work as he expanded the mill manufacturing company. Other planters also ran cotton plantations in the area.

By the time of the Civil War, the cotton mills employed more than 400 people, mostly women. Given settlement patterns in the Piedmont, they were likely of Scots-Irish descent. As the mill increased in production, so did the number of people living in the area.

The Roswell area was part of Cobb County, Georgia when first settled, and the county seat of Marietta was a four-hour (one-way) horseback ride to the west. Since Roswell residents desired a local government, they submitted a city charter for incorporation to the Georgia General Assembly. The charter was approved on February 16, 1854.

During the American Civil War, the city was captured by Union forces. They shipped the mill workers north to prevent them from returning to work if the mills were rebuilt. This was a common tactic in Sherman's plans of economic ruin of the South. The mill was burned, but the houses were left standing. The ruins of the mill and the 30-foot dam that was built for power still remain. Most of the town's property was confiscated by Union forces. Leading planters had left the town to go to safer places well before Sherman's invasion. They may have taken many of their slaves with them, as was often the practice. Some slaves probably escaped to Union lines.

After the war, Barrington King rebuilt the mills and resumed production. While many freed African-Americans stayed in the area to work as paid labor on plantations or in town, others migrated to Fulton County and Atlanta for new opportunities. The South suffered an agricultural depression resulting from the effects of the war and labor changes.

According to the census, the population of Cobb County decreased slightly from 14,242 in 1860, to 13,814 in 1870. The proportion of African-Americans decreased more, from 27% to 23%. During those years, nearby Fulton County more than doubled in population, from 14,427 to 33,336. The effects of dramatic African-American migration can be seen by the increase in Fulton County from 20.5% slave in 1860 to 45.7% colored (African-American) in 1870.

At the end of 1931, the United States was in the midst of the Great Depression. The difficult economic conditions drove Milton County, Roswell's neighboring county to the north, to merge in its entirety with Fulton County, Roswell's neighboring county to the south. To facilitate the merger, Roswell was ceded by Cobb County to Fulton. Sections of neighboring Cherokee and Gwinnett Counties were also ceded to Fulton at this time to define the expanded and contiguous northern section of Fulton County.

Jere Wood, a Republican, has served as mayor of Roswell since 1997.

In 2006, Tom Price was re-elected to a second term in the United States House of Representatives to serve as the congressmen from the 6th congressional district of Georgia, the district that encompasses most of Roswell.(see references)

Geography

Roswell is located at (34.033896, -84.344028).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 38.6 square miles (100.0 km²), of which, 38.0 square miles (98.5 km²) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.5 km²) of it (1.53%) is water.

Geographic features

Major highways

Climate

Customary

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Avg high (°F)	49.0	53.8	62.8	71.5	78.2	84.6	87.3	86.7	81.2	71.8	62.6	53.0	70.2
Avg low (°F)	27.0	29.4	36.4	44.2	53.0	60.9	65.1	64.6	58.6	45.6	37.3	30.3	46.0
Rainfall (in)	5.2	4.9	6.0	4.6	4.7	3.7	4.8	4.1	3.6	3.5	3.8	4.8	53.8

Metric

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Avg high (°C)	9.4	12.1	17.1	21.9	25.7	29.2	30.7	30.4	27.3	22.1	17.0	11.7	21.2
Avg low (°C)	-2.8	-1.4	2.4	6.8	11.7	16.1	18.4	18.1	14.8	7.6	2.9	-0.9	7.8
Rainfall (mm)	132	124	152	117	119	94	122	104	91	89	97	122	1367

Source: Weatherbase.com

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 79,334 people, 30,207 households, and 20,933 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,086.5 people per square mile (805.7/km²). There were 31,300 housing units at an average density of 823.2/sq mi (317.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 81.51% White, 8.54% African American, 0.20% Native American, 3.74% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 4.08% from other races, and 1.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.61% of the population.

There were 30,207 households out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.4% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 35.1% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 7.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.2 years. For every 100 females there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.0 males.

According to a 2006 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $78,817, and the median income for a family was $93,580. The average income for households was $106,219 and the average income for families was $123,481. Males had a median income of $72,754 versus $45,979 for females. The per capita income for the city was $40,106. About 3.2% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.6% of those under age 18 and 0.7% of those age 65 or over.

From the Roswell City Website, ,

Household Income (2005)

Income	Percent
under $14,999	3.9%
$15,000 - $34,999	17.8%
$35,000 - $74,999	32.2%
$75,000 - $99,999	11.8%
$100,000 - $149,999	14.3%
$150,000 - $199,999	8.6%
$200.000 +	11.4%

Household Income (2005)

Median	$84,595
Per Capita	$37,667
Mean	$99,961
Average Family Size	3.53
Average Household Size	2.91

Roswell Median Housing Value

Year	Value
1990	$143,497
2000	$207,700
2005	$299,000

2000 Population by Age

Age	Percent
Under 5	6.8%
5 - 9	7.9%
10 - 19	12.7%
20 - 29	9.8%
30 - 39	19.4%
40 - 49	17.2%
50 -59	13.9%
60 - 69	5.5%
70 and over	4.4%
Not Known	2.4%
Median Age	37.2

Population by Gender (2006)

Gender	Percent
Male	49.2%
Female	50.8%

Education

Level	Percent
Less than High School	16.1%
High School Graduate	21.1%
Associate's Degree	43.9%
Bachelor's Degree	18.9%

Race & Ethnicity

Ethnicity	Percent
American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut	0.9%
Asian	4.4%
Black	12.4%
White	73.9%
Other	6.3%
Hispanic	14.8%

CNN has called the city one of the best places to live in the U.S.

Named One of the Top Three Cities in the Nation to Raise Your Family. Roswell was listed third in the book, Best Places to Raise Your Family, released by Frommer's.

On October 30, 2006, the City of Roswell was named the 18th Safest City in the United States by City Crime Rankings, an annual reference book of crime statistics and rankings published by Morgan Quitno Press. Roswell was selected from 371 cities in the Overall Safest 25 category.

Government

Please see the page Roswell Government

Points of interest

Roswell Recreation and Parks

The Roswell Recreation and Parks Department boasts countless facilities around the City of Roswell. The goals of the Department are to promote the sense of community spirit and athleticism in the youth of Roswell. The Department partners with many local middle and high schools to achieve its goals by lending practice fields and athletic coaches throughout the year.

Notable festivals and parades

Roswell Memorial Day Ceremony — the largest Memorial Day Ceremony in Georgia
Roswell Roots: A Festival of Black History & Culture (February)
Roswell Criterium Bicycle Race and Historic Roswell Kiwanis Kids Bike Safety Rodeo (May)
Roswell Magnolia Storytelling Festival (June)
Riverside Sounds Concert Series (May — October)
Roswell Youth Day Parade and Festival (October)
Keep Roswell Beautiful Duck Race (October)

Notable residents

Martha Bulloch Roosevelt, the mother of Theodore Roosevelt (the 26^th US President) and grandmother of Eleanor Roosevelt, hailed from Roswell and Bulloch Hall was her home. Emily Dolvin, the aunt of Jimmy Carter (the 39th U.S. President), lived in Roswell the majority of her life and was the inaugural chairwomen of the Roswell Historical Society. Prolific architect Neel Reid lived in Mimosa Hall and died there in 1926.

Celebrities who have made Fulton County, and specifically Roswell, their home have included actors Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Singer/actor Usher. Comedian Jeff Foxworthy was a frequent diner at one of Roswell's popular watering holes, The Southern Skillet, when he lived there off and on in the '90s. John and Patsy Ramsey, the parents of JonBenét Ramsey, lived in the area in the early 2000s. Former Major League Baseball pitcher Alejandro Peña also makes his home in Roswell. Current Atlanta Braves 3B Chipper Jones lives in a 24,000 square foot mansion in Roswell as well. Comedian David Cross lived in Roswell during his childhood in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Secretaries of State of Georgia Karen Handel resides in Roswell as well as former Pittsburgh Steeler and current NBC Sports announcer Jerome Bettis.

Tampa Bay Buccaneer safety Jermaine Phillips was raised in Roswell. There he helped Roswell High School win a AAAA basketball state championship in 1997. Zebrahead lead guitarist, Greg Berdgorf resides here.