It developed as a railroad depot town when the Southern Railway built a station in the area.

GA-113 also follows U.S. 278/GA-101 along the northern bypass of the town, leading northeast 19 mi (31 km) to Cartersville and southeast to Yorkville (concurrent with GA-101).

Growth in the form of new restaurants and casual dining, as well as retail shopping, came about as residential building increased.

The Drama Department at Rockmart High School is known for its involvement with the community and every spring the advanced acting class performs at a GHSA One-act play competition.

In October 2008, the Rockmart High School Thespians placed first at the Region AA One Act Competition with their performance of Godspell, as well as receiving the Best Actor award.

In those competitions, both band and auxiliary sections (such as the drumline, tubas, colorguard and danceline) were regarded as being among the best in Northwest Georgia.

The Polk County campus of Georgia Northwestern Technical College is also located in Rockmart.

The Southern Railway had two Mid-West to Florida named trains, Ponce de Leon and Royal Palm that made stops in the town into the 1960s.

[16] The Seaboard Air Line Railroad, had the Silver Comet, which made a stop in Rockmart on all trips between Atlanta and Birmingham.

The Silver Comet continued on the merged Seaboard Coast Line, which discontinued the train on May 30, 1969.