Editing Acworth, Georgia (section)

==History==
Like the rest of Cobb County, the area now containing Acworth was carved out of the former [[Cherokee Nation (19th century)|Cherokee Nation]] in 1831 after [[Trail of Tears|the natives were expelled]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1275 |title=New Georgia Encyclopedia: Cobb County |publisher=Georgiaencyclopedia.org |date=2011-11-15 |access-date=2012-12-22}}</ref>

The [[Western and Atlantic Railroad]] was completed through town in 1840. A watering station for the locomotives was established there.<ref name="ASHP p7">{{Cite book |author = Acworth Society for Historic Preservation |title = Images of Acworth |publisher = [[Arcadia Publishing]] |year = 2006 |location = Charleston, SC |pages =7 |isbn = 0-7385-1479-9}}</ref>

The town received its current name in 1843 from Western & Atlantic Railroad [[Railroad engineer|engineer]] Joseph L. Gregg, who named it for his hometown of [[Acworth, New Hampshire]], which was named for the former [[Surveyor of the Navy|Royal Navy Surveyor]] Sir Jacob Acworth.<ref>{{cite book | url=http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/a.pdf | title=Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins | publisher=Winship Press | author=Krakow, Kenneth K. | year=1975 | location=Macon, GA | pages=1 | isbn=0-915430-00-2}}</ref>

Telegraph lines reached the town in 1851.

A private school was opened for white students in 1852. A newer private school operated from 1899 to 1935, when they integrated with the [[Cobb County School District]]. Until 1935, high school students from Acworth paid tuition to attend. Students outside the town were subsidized by the Cobb County School Board. Black students were educated separately in a grammar school. The closest Black high school was in Atlanta. Later, students were bused by the county to a segregated school in [[Marietta, Georgia|Marietta]].<ref name="ASHP p85">{{Cite book |author = Acworth Society for Historic Preservation |title = Images of Acworth |publisher = [[Arcadia Publishing]] |year = 2006 |location = Charleston, SC |pages =85 |isbn = 0-7385-1479-9}}</ref>

Acworth was incorporated on December 1, 1860.

Volunteers to fight in the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] enlisted in what became Company A ("Acworth Infantry") in the [[18th Georgia Volunteer Infantry]] and Company C ("Invincibles") in the 41st Georgia Volunteer Infantry.<ref name="ASHP p41">{{Cite book |author = Acworth Society for Historic Preservation |title = Images of Acworth |publisher = [[Arcadia Publishing]] |year = 2006 |location = Charleston, SC |pages =41 |isbn = 0-7385-1479-9}}</ref>

The town was [[Skirmish at Ackworth|captured]] by the [[Union Army|Union]] on June 6, 1864. The city was called "Little Shanty" by the Union troops, to contrast it with the next town south, "Big Shanty", since renamed [[Kennesaw, Georgia|Kennesaw]]. The town was under [[martial law]] during the six months of occupation. On November 13, 1864, the town was burned down by the army of General [[William Tecumseh Sherman|W. T. Sherman]], sparing 12 homes and one church; its citizens were left destitute.

The town had nearly recovered by the 1880s. [[Cotton]] farming in the area peaked from the 1890s through the 1920s. Low prices during the [[Great Depression]] resulted in a cessation of cotton farming in the area and throughout Cobb County.<ref name="ASHP p56">{{Cite book |author = Acworth Society for Historic Preservation |title = Images of Acworth |publisher = [[Arcadia Publishing]] |year = 2006 |location = Charleston, SC |pages =56 |isbn = 0-7385-1479-9}}</ref>

During [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregation]], the railroad tracks served as a racial divide, with [[African American]]s living to the northeast of the tracks and the whites to the southwest. There were few common public events. When a movie theater was erected in the 1930s, Blacks were allowed to access the balcony from a separate entrance. Whites sat on the main floor.<ref name="ASHP p59">{{Cite book |author = Acworth Society for Historic Preservation |title = Images of Acworth |publisher = [[Arcadia Publishing]] |year = 2006 |location = Charleston, SC |pages =59 |isbn = 0-7385-1479-9}}</ref>

Volunteers formed a fire department in 1907.<ref name="ASHP p73">{{Cite book |author = Acworth Society for Historic Preservation |title = Images of Acworth |publisher = [[Arcadia Publishing]] |year = 2006 |location = Charleston, SC |pages =73 |isbn = 0-7385-1479-9}}</ref>

There were eventually three textile mills in town from 1905 through the 1980s. They employed about 800 workers at their peak.<ref name="ASHP p77-8">{{Cite book |author = Acworth Society for Historic Preservation |title = Images of Acworth |publisher = [[Arcadia Publishing]] |year = 2006 |location = Charleston, SC |pages =77, 78 |isbn = 0-7385-1479-9}}</ref>

In 1926, Main Street was paved. When the entire [[Dixie Highway]] (old [[U.S. Route 41 in Georgia|U.S. Route 41]] and part of the Cherokee Peachtree Trail) was paved in 1929, over 800 tourist vehicles entered the city daily.<ref name="ASHP p2">{{Cite book |author = Acworth Society for Historic Preservation |title = Images of Acworth |publisher = [[Arcadia Publishing]] |year = 2006 |location = Charleston, SC |pages =2 |isbn = 0-7385-1479-9}}</ref>

When the Etowah River was dammed, forming Lake Allatoona, citizens feared that land near the town would become a swamp. They successfully petitioned for a second dam, resulting in Lake Acworth in the 1950s. This became a tourist attraction.<ref name="ASHP p111">{{Cite book |author = Acworth Society for Historic Preservation |title = Images of Acworth |publisher = [[Arcadia Publishing]] |year = 2006 |location = Charleston, SC |pages =111 |isbn = 0-7385-1479-9}}</ref>

<!---had water and sewage by 1920s. See pg 79 of same reference--->
The town made a major improvement in its water and sewage lines in the late 1940s.<ref name="ASHP p72">{{Cite book |author = Acworth Society for Historic Preservation |title = Images of Acworth |publisher = [[Arcadia Publishing]] |year = 2006 |location = Charleston, SC |pages =72 |isbn = 0-7385-1479-9}}</ref>

The city elected its first woman mayor, Mary McCall, in 1956 and 1961–66.<ref name=arounda/>

African-American students were schooled separately from white children until 1967.<ref name="ASHP p85" />

Acworth was recognized as a 2010 [[All-America City Award]] winner by the [[National Civic League]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 18, 2010 |title=National Civic League selects All-America cities |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2010/06/18/national-civic-league-selects-all-america-cities/ |newspaper=[[The Denver Post]] |accessdate=June 24, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Stevens |first=Alexis |date=August 11, 2012 |title=Georgia has an All-America City |url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/georgia-has-all-america-city/FYzc7nHgSVavFSSzsJo7sO/ |newspaper=[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]] |accessdate=June 24, 2021}}</ref>

In 2011, the filming of several scenes for [[Footloose (2011 film)|the ''Footloose'' remake]] took place in downtown Acworth. The Acworth Presbyterian Church was used as the primary church, and the house of Mayor Tommy Allegood was used as [[Julianne Hough]]'s character's home.{{citation needed|reason=superficial ref follows. Detailed one needed. Hardcopy better because it won't vanish like this one will|date=October 2011}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mdjonline.com/view/full_story/15996005/article-%E2%80%9980s-remake-has-Cobb-ties?instance=home_viewed |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130128142534/http://www.mdjonline.com/view/full_story/15996005/article-%E2%80%9980s-remake-has-Cobb-ties?instance=home_viewed |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-01-28 |title=The Marietta Daily Journal - '80s remake has Cobb ties |publisher=Mdjonline.com |access-date=2012-11-07 }}</ref>

In 2017, the city was the site of the WWA [[Wakeboarding]] National Championship.<ref name=arounda>{{Cite magazine |first=Carla |last=Caldwell |date=August 2017 |magazine=Around Acworth |title=From the Editor |page=4 |url=https://aroundacworthmagazine.com/archives-2/}}</ref>