Villa Rica /ˌvɪlə ˈrɪkə/ (Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese translation: Rich Village) is a city in Carroll and Douglas counties in the U.S. state of Georgia.

Additionally, there are unincorporated areas in Paulding County with Villa Rica postal addresses.

This land was ceded by the Creek people in 1825 with the second Treaty of Indian Springs signed by Chief William McIntosh.

In 1826, farmers and gold miners arrived in the area from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware to what was then known as "Hixtown" (named after a local tavern operator, incorporated in 1830).

Many of the original structures were physically moved to the new site (now known as the North Villa Rica Commercial Historic District) by rolling them on logs pulled by horses.

When the Georgia Gold Rush took hold in 1829, most of the Villa Rica miners moved northeast to the Dahlonega area.

Early Villa Rica had a Wild West atmosphere complete with Indians, horse thieves, and vigilante justice.

At first, the Slicks would just hold Pony Club members caught stealing horses until a jury trial could be held.

But Pony Club members usually had no trouble finding witnesses to prove their innocence, so the Slicks eventually started holding their own trials and the guilty were whipped.

Things came to a head during the election of 1832 when large numbers of Pony Club members and Slicks got into a brawl.

[7] With the arrival of the new railroad line, Hixtown and Cheevestown combined to become the new city of Villa Rica.

[10] The Dorough Round Barn and Farm was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 20, 1980.

Located about 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Villa Rica on Hickory Level Road, the farm consists of a 19th-century farmhouse, several other outbuildings, and the famous round barn.

This district includes several blocks of buildings, some dating back to 1875, which were built in the early commercial style.

The area houses the City of Villa Rica Police Department along with several antique stores, restaurants, and other commercial businesses.

The farm-house, built in 1892, is in excellent condition and sits in front of a Civilian Conservation Corps camp established in 1937 to help struggling farmers with their cotton fields.

[21] The Pine Mountain Gold Museum at Stockmar Park was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

The city and the Downtown Development Authority desired to tear down the oldest International design Old Clinic.

Built as the Berry-Powell-Berry Clinic, the doctors chose cutting-edge architecture to showcase their practice as cutting edge.

The city also allowed Tanner Medical Center to demolish the old hospital (1955) which was built with the same architecture and used by the same collation of doctors.

After leaving Villa Rica, Dorsey became a famous blues musician known as Georgia Tom.

In terms of injury and loss of life, the explosion remains the most catastrophic event in Carroll County history.

Historically, the Southern Railway ran several daily passenger trains, including the Kansas City-Florida Special, the Sunnyland and an Atlanta-Birmingham section of the Piedmont Limited, making flag or signal stops in Villa Rica.