Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Floyd County.

The American Rome developed in the antebellum period as a market and trading city due to its advantageous location on the rivers.

It shipped the rich regional cotton commodity crop downriver to markets on the Gulf Coast and export overseas.

Several Cherokee national leaders settled here and developed their own cotton plantations, including chiefs Major Ridge and John Ross.

In the 18th century, a high demand in Europe for American deerskins had led to a brisk trade between Indian hunters and White traders.

A few White traders and some settlers (primarily from the Southern Colonies of Georgia and Carolina) were accepted by the Head of Coosa Cherokee.

The commitment to evict the Cherokee was not immediately enforced, and Chiefs John Ross and Major Ridge led efforts to stop their removal, including several federal lawsuits.

[15] With the entire area still occupied primarily by Cherokee, the city developed to serve the agrarian needs of the new cotton-based economy.

The leading Cherokee participated in the cultivation of cotton as a commodity crop, which soon replaced deerskin trading as a source of wealth in the region.

They were the last of the major Southeast tribes to be forcibly moved to the Indian Territory (in modern-day Oklahoma) on the Trail of Tears.

In 1849, an 18-mile (29 km) rail spur to the Western and Atlantic Railroad in Kingston was completed, significantly improving transportation to the east.

Rome's iron works were an important manufacturing center during the Civil War, supplying many cannons and other armaments to the Confederate effort.

In April 1863, 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.

[22] Davis' forces occupied Rome for several months,[23] making repairs to use the damaged forts and briefly quartering General Sherman.

[25] In the late 1890s, additional flood control measures were instituted, including raising the height of Broad Street by about 15 feet (4.6 m).

As a result, the original entrances and ground-level floors of many of Rome's historic buildings became covered over and had to serve as basements.

[26] In the early 20th century, the Georgia Assembly approved a charter for the city to establish a commission-manager form of government, a reform idea to add a management professional to the team.

After the rayon plant was completed in 1929, Mussolini honored the American Rome with a bronze replica of the sculpture of Romulus and Remus nursing from the Capitoline Wolf.

Rome's textile mill continued operating, providing steady jobs for whites as a buffer against the economic hardships of the Great Depression.

Farm workers were displaced, and many African Americans left the area in the Great Migration, seeking work in cities, including those in the North and Midwest.

"[30] Among fundraising activities for the poor, wealthier residents bought tickets to a show put on by local performers; the fares were paid to grocers, who made boxes of food to sell at a discount price to needy families.

Rome has long had the strength of economic diversity, with an economy founded in manufacturing, education, healthcare, technology, tourism, and other industries.

National companies that are part of Rome's technology industry include Brugg Cable and Telecom,[58] Suzuki Manufacturing of America,[59] automobile parts makers Neaton Rome[60] and F&P Georgia, Peach State Labs,[61] and the North American headquarters of Pirelli Tire.

In March 2020, Kerry Group announced plans to build a food-manufacturing facility in Rome at a cost of $125 million, the company's largest ever capital investment.

[65] In 2010, sport events netted over $10 million to the local economy, as reported by the Greater Rome Convention and Visitors Bureau.

[68] In June 2021, Rome hosted the youth USATF outdoor track and field championships, which were held at Barron Stadium.

[citation needed][clarification needed] At the same time, the board of education was increased to six members elected from three wards, with two numbered positions to be elected at-large from the city for each ward, A majority vote was required to win, with runoff procedures to apply to the top two candidates if no majority was achieved.

The city challenged the attorney general's authority to reject the annexation and electoral systems for each, as plaintiffs believed the reduction in seats and requirement for majority ranking to win would dilute the voting power of the African-American minority.

Under the state constitution and previous practices making voter registration difficult, African Americans had been essentially disenfranchised since the turn of the 20th century.

(The city did not seek pre-clearance of its charter changes to its election system in 1966, nor did it get approval of its 60 annexations from November 1, 1964, to February 10, 1975, which were both required under the law.)