Roswell, Georgia

Roswell is a city located in northern Fulton County; it is an affluent suburb of northern Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The 2010 Census population was 88,346. It is the seventh-largest city in Georgia. A branch of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, a component of the National Park System, is located in Roswell at Vickery Creek.

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 – Roswell Mill. He brought with him 36 African Slaves from his own coastal plantation, plus another 42 skilled carpenter slaves bought in Savannah to build the mills. The slaves built the mills, infrastructure, houses, mill worker apartments, and supporting buildings for the new town. The Africans brought their unique Geechee culture, language, and religious traditions from the coast to north Georgia.

King invited investors from the coast 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 was one of the planters who migrated there to establish a new plantation, bringing enslaved African Americans from the coastal areas. Barrington Hall (the home of Barrington King), Smith Plantation (the home of Archibald Smith) and Bulloch Hall (The childhood home of President Theodore Roosevelt's mother - Mittie Bulloch) have been preserved and restored. They are now open to the public. According to the 1850 Slave Schedules, these three "founding families", 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. According to the 1850 Census, Barrington King held 70 slaves. Half of these slaves were under the age of 10. These slaves worked in Barrington's household. Barrington King "leased" or "rented" some of his adult male slaves to the Roswell Manufacturing Co. These enslaved workers did not work around the mill machinery.

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. 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.

During the American Civil War, the city was captured by Union forces under the leadership of General Garrard. Under orders of General Sherman, General Garrard shipped the mill workers north to prevent them from returning to work if the mills were rebuilt. This was a common tactic of Sherman's plans of economic disruption of the South. The mill was burned, but the houses were left standing. The ruins of the mill and the 30 ft dam that was built for power still remain. Most of the town's property was confiscated by Union forces. The leading families had left the town to go to safer places well before the Federal invasion. Most slaves were sent away from advancing Federal troops, as was often the practice. Some slaves may have escaped to Union lines.

After the war, Barrington King rebuilt the mills and resumed production. While many freed slaves 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 (Black) 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 (note: much of what is now Roswell was part of Milton county already), 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.

Roswell is now one of the largest cities in the state; its population has increased most steadily in the last 15 years. Population Jere Wood, a Republican, has served as mayor of Roswell since 1997.


 * See also: List of Mayors of Roswell, Georgia

Geography
Roswell is located at °N, °W (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

 * Big Creek
 * Bull Sluice Lake
 * Chattahoochee River
 * Morgan Falls Dam
 * Johns Creek
 * Crooked Creek
 * Audery Mill Creek

Major highways

 * [[Image:Georgia 9.svg|25px]] State Route 9
 * [[Image:Georgia 92.svg|25px]] State Route 92
 * [[Image:Georgia 120.svg|25px]] State Route 120
 * [[Image:Georgia 140.svg|25px]] State Route 140
 * [[Image:Georgia 400.svg|25px]] State Route 400

Climate
Customary   

Metric    Source: Weatherbase.com

Demographics
As of 2010 Roswell had a population of 88,346. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 74.7% white, 11.7% black or African American, 1.5% Asian Indian, 2.5% other Asian, 0.3% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 6.6% from some other race and 2.5% from two or more races. 16.6% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

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 per square mile (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 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $73,469, and the median income for a family was $103,698. 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.

Household Income (2005)

Household Income (2005)

Roswell Median Housing Value

2000 Population by Age

Population by Gender (2006)

Education

Race & Ethnicity

CNN named Roswell a contender for its list of the Top 100 Places to Live in the US in 2005.

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.

Economy
The Consulate-General of Honduras in Atlanta is located at Suite 3 in 600 Houze Way in Roswell.

Points of interest

 * Archibald Smith Plantation Home
 * Bulloch Hall
 * Barrington Hall
 * Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
 * Chattahoochee Nature Center
 * Faces Of War Memorial
 * Primrose Cottage
 * Teaching Museum North
 * Atlanta Rowing Club
 * Holly Hill
 * Historic Roswell District

Roswell Recreation and Parks


The Roswell Recreation and Parks department has 18 parks with 800 acre of active and passive parkland and facilities. 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)
 * Roswell Annual Fireworks Extravaganza July 4

Notable residents
Martha Bulloch Roosevelt, the mother of Theodore Roosevelt (the 26th 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 chairwoman 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 Roswell as well. Former NFL star Jerome Bettis is building a home in Roswell, in the same neighborhood as Chipper Jones. The performer Usher lives in the same Roswell neighborhood. Comedian David Cross lived in Roswell during his childhood in the 1970s and early 1980s Former two time National League MVP Atlanta Braves Baseball Player Dale Murphy, lived in Roswell in the 1980s. 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. Natural chef Ford Fry also lives in Roswell.

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

Other sports notables living in Roswell are NFL player Takeo Spikes, and former NBA players Kevin Willis and Antonio Davis.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Jermaine Phillips was raised in Roswell. There he helped Roswell High School win a AAAA basketball state championship in 1997. He went on to the University of Georgia where he played as a Bulldog.

Zebrahead lead guitarist Greg Berdgorf is a resident.

Legendary musician Curtis Mayfield spent his final days in Roswell's Mountain Park area.

Rappers T-Pain and Usher live in the Roswell area and are frequently seen around town.

Public schools
Roswell's local public schools are part of the Fulton County School System.

Charter schools:
 * Amana Academy (K-8)
 * Fulton Science Academy (6-8)

Elementary schools:
 * Esther Jackson Elementary School
 * Hembree Springs Elementary School
 * Mimosa Elementary School
 * Mountain Park Elementary School
 * Northwood Elementary School
 * Roswell North Elementary School
 * Sweet Apple Elementary School
 * Hillside Elementary School
 * River Eves Elementary School

Middle schools:
 * Crabapple Middle School
 * Elkins Pointe Middle School
 * Holcomb Bridge Middle School

High schools:


 * Centennial High School
 * Crossroads Second Chance North Alternative School
 * Roswell High School

Private schools

 * Creative Montessori School
 * Blessed Trinity Catholic High School
 * Chrysalis Experiential Academy
 * Cottage School
 * Cross of Life Montessori School
 * Eaton Academy
 * Fellowship Christian Academy
 * High Meadows School
 * Queen of Angels Catholic School
 * Village Montessori
 * The Howard School (North Campus)
 * St. Francis High School

Public libraries
Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System operates the Roswell Branch.