History of Rome, Georgia

These people are believed to have suffered high mortality rates and mostly died off in the late 16th century due to exposure to new infectious diseases carried by the Spanish expeditions.

Specific information about events in the area of Rome before the Spanish expeditions in the 16th century is unknown, due to the native inhabitants' lack of written records; archeological excavations and linguistics have provided insight to the cultures.

Historians debate whether Hernando de Soto was the first Spanish explorer to encounter Native Americans in the area now known as Rome, but they widely agree that he passed through the region with his expedition in 1540.

They later migrated westward into Alabama, settling in the general region of Gadsden,[5][6] By the mid-18th century, the Cherokee people had moved into the area, pushed by European-American encroachment.

In the 18th century, a high demand in Europe for American deer skins had led to a brisk trade between Creek and later Cherokee hunters and white traders.

Several Cherokee leaders settled here, developing plantations, including chiefs Major Ridge and John Ross.

It is now officially the Chieftains Museum (Major Ridge Home) and has been designated by the Department of Interior as a National Historic Landmark.

The Head of Coosa Cherokee allowed a few white traders and some settlers (primarily from the British Colonies of Georgia and Carolina) to trade here.

Through the 1820s and 1830s, chiefs Major Ridge and John Ross led efforts to stop their removal, including several Federal lawsuits.

[10] In April 1863, during the U.S. Civil War, the city was defended by Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest against Union Colonel Abel Streight's "lightning mule" raid from the area east of modern-day Cedar Bluff, Alabama.

[16] Davis's forces occupied Rome for several months, making repairs to the damaged forts and briefly quartering General Sherman.

[19] In the late 1890s, additional flood control measures were instituted, including raising the height of Broad Street by about 15 feet.