Editing Villa Rica, Georgia (section)

===Historic sites===
*'''Wicks Tavern''' (c. 1830) is the oldest commercial structure in Carroll County.<ref>{{cite web | title = Georgia Tourism - Wick's Tavern | publisher = Georgia Department of Economic Development | url = http://my.georgia.org/net/org/info.aspx?s=27552.0.27.3011&partnerid=27552 | access-date = 2007-12-14 }}</ref> The tavern was built in Hixtown by New York immigrant John B. Wick. Wick's Tavern was a local gathering place for gold miners working area mines in the early 19th century. The building is a classic example of the "Dutch"-style timber framing method. When the [[Georgia Pacific Railway]] passed through town in 1882 and the homes and businesses were moved, the tavern was considered too large to be moved. It was later turned into a home. In 1998, the "Friends of Wick's Tavern" raised the funds necessary to rescue this historic building from being demolished and finally helped it make the journey to downtown Villa Rica.<ref>{{cite web|title=Historic Sites|url=http://www.villaricatourism.com/historic_sights.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061026152722/http://www.villaricatourism.com/historic_sights.html|archive-date=October 26, 2006|access-date=2007-12-14|publisher=Villa Rica Tourism Bureau}}</ref> Wicks Tavern now serves as a living history museum and the home of Forrest Escort SCV and the Friends of Wicks Tavern.
*The '''Stockmar Gold Mine''' (19th–20th centuries) is presently being preserved as a city park and gold museum currently under the name Pine Mountain Gold Museum at Stockmar Park.<ref name=PMGMweb>{{cite web| title=Pine Mountain Gold Museum at Stockmar Park| url=http://www.pinemountaingoldmuseum.com/| publisher=The City of Villa Rica| access-date=23 October 2012}}</ref> As a division of Villa Rica Parks and Recreation, the museum was opened in 2008 and serves as a historical landmark for the city.<ref name=NatlRegister>{{cite web| title=National Register of Historic Places| url=http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/ga/Douglas/state.html| access-date=23 October 2012}}</ref>
*'''Fullerville''' (1916–1956) is a small community northwest of Villa Rica which had several [[textile mill]]s (notably [[hosiery]]). Fullerville was granted a charter in 1916 but returned it to the state in 1956, allowing the city to be annexed into Villa Rica.<ref>Georgia Laws 1916 and 1956</ref> The area retains its early 20th-century character. Its most notable feature is the Fullerville Jail which dates to 1828 on county property records.
*'''Mt. Prospect Baptist Church''' was officially formed in July 1887. The first church building was erected in 1888–1890 on Beecher Hill (now Wilson Street) and was dedicated on the second Sunday in May 1892. This was the building in which [[Thomas A. Dorsey]] learned about music. The second church building, built in 1928, was the first black-owned church building in Carroll County. This building was destroyed by fire in February 1945. A new church building was immediately commissioned and completed in five months. In 2005, work began on a larger sanctuary next to the existing one, and the congregation moved into the new church March 11, 2007.<ref>{{cite web | title = Church History | publisher = Mt. Prospect Baptist Church | url = http://mtprospectbaptist.tripod.com/index_files/page0004.htm | access-date = 2007-12-16 }}</ref>
[[File:VillaRicaFirstPresbyterianChurch.jpg|thumb|right|Villa Rica First Presbyterian Church]]
*The '''First Presbyterian Church of Villa Rica''' was organized as Villa Rica Presbyterian Church in 1855. A white frame building was constructed on Candler Street in 1885 for worship. The building was moved to its current location in 1930 onto property donated by the family of Mr. W. B. Candler who had served as Clerk of Session from 1888 to 1921. The structure was bricked and a basement was added for Sunday School rooms. The mahogany [[pew]]s, [[pulpit]], and the [[stained glass]] windows were purchased from Old Wesley Memorial Church in [[Atlanta]] when it was torn down. The windows were made from a color formula that has been lost over time, making them irreplaceable antiques. The Candler home, situated behind the church building, served the church in many capacities before it was torn down in 1998 and replaced with a new fellowship building.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Brief History of our Church|url=http://www.firstpcavillarica.org/history.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030215175539/http://www.firstpcavillarica.org/history.htm|archive-date=February 15, 2003|access-date=2007-12-16|publisher=First Presbyterian Church of Villa Rica}}</ref>
*'''First United Methodist Church of Villa Rica''': Although historical documentation is sketchy, it is believed that the Methodist Church built their first building, a log cabin, in 1830, making them the first church in the city. Around 1845, a wooden church building was built. When Hixtown moved and Villa Rica was created, the church elected to build a new white frame church. It was constructed in 1886 on the current church site. The old church was abandoned in 1890. The construction on the current church began in 1905 and was first used in July 1906.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of the Villa Rica Methodist Church|url=http://www.vrfumc.com/history.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717232355/http://www.vrfumc.com/history.htm|archive-date=July 17, 2011|access-date=2007-12-16|publisher=First United Methodist Church of Villa Rica}}</ref>

====National Register of Historic Places====
[[File:VillaRicaRoundBarn20071216.jpg|thumb|right|A photo of the nationally registered historic round barn in Villa Rica, showing its state of disrepair]]
The '''[[Dorough Round Barn and Farm]]''' was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on January 20, 1980. Located about {{convert|3|mi|0}} southwest of Villa Rica on Hickory Level Road, the farm consists of a 19th-century farmhouse, several other outbuildings, and the famous round barn. Built in 1917, the Round Barn is quite significant architecturally due to its circular shape. When constructed, this would have been considered a progressive agricultural building technique.<ref>{{cite web | title = GEORGIA - Carroll County | publisher = National Register of Historical Places | url = http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/GA/Carroll/state.html | access-date = 2007-12-16 }}</ref> The barn was designed by Floyd Lovell.<ref>{{cite web|title=Carroll County Community Greenspace Program|url=http://carrollcountyga.com/home/Green.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040206091007/http://carrollcountyga.com/home/Green.pdf|archive-date=February 6, 2004|access-date=2007-12-16|publisher=Carroll County, Georgia}}</ref> It had two levels, the upper one smaller than the lower. At the time the barn was added, it was still generally structurally intact. The upper level is now completely gone, and the lower level is falling apart as well. The barn is privately owned, and it is unknown whether there are any plans to restore it.

{{Main|North Villa Rica Commercial Historic District}}

The '''North Villa Rica Commercial Historic District''' was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 31, 2002. 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 boundary is basically North Avenue, East Gordon Street, West Church Street, and the Southern Railroad line.

The '''Williams Family Farm''' was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 25, 2005. 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. There are several outbuildings and an historic landscape. This farm is also known as the Williams-Mitchell Farm.<ref>{{cite web|title=Williams-Mitchell Farm Documentation and Interpretive Plan|url=http://www.westga.edu/~history/centerwilliams.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030502183211/http://www.westga.edu/~history/centerwilliams.htm|archive-date=May 2, 2003|access-date=2007-12-16|publisher=Center for Public History, University of West Georgia}}</ref>

The '''Pine Mountain Gold Museum''' at Stockmar Park was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.<ref name="NatlRegister"/> The 1826 gold rush of the city, called "Georgia's Forgotten Gold Rush", was at Stockmar Park, and a museum was built to tell the story. The remains of some original buildings and equipment are on site, along with a stamp mill, grist mill, panning area, and live farm animal exhibit.<ref name="PMGMweb"/>

The '''South Commercial Historic District''' is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, but the completed nomination form is currently held up because of the controversy over the Old Library/Old Clinic for the past several years. The building is one of the most significant in West Georgia and a keystone of the proposed historic district.
[[File:Old Library signed copy.jpg|thumb|right|Old Villa Rica Library 1951-2007]]
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. Built in 1951, the building later served as the Old Library and then again as a clinic. After several years of efforts to save the structure, the city tore it down in December 2007. Previously insisting for years on the need for parking, immediately after demolition the site was made into a parking lot for local businesses. 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.<ref>Blevins, Ernest Everett, MFA "'Old Library' a Piece of Villa Rica's History", ''The Villa Rican'', Vol. 72. No. 31 (3 August 2006), 5
Spencer Crawford, "At Least One Still Works to Save Old Building," ''The Villa Rican'', Vol. 72, No. 25 (21 June 2007) 1, 6. Spencer Crawford, "Survey Claims No Need for More Parking," ''The Villa Rican'', Vol 72, No. 2 (11 January 2007), 1, 3. Spencer Crawford, "Should Old Downtown Building Be Saved?" ''The Villa Rican'', Vol. 72, No. 48 (30 November 2006), 1-2. Tony Montcalm, "Downtown Parking Survey Underway," ''The Villa Rican'', Vol. 72, No. 34 (25 August 2005) 1, 11. Tony Montcalm, "Villa Rica Man Fights to Save Old Library," ''The Villa Rican'', Vol. 72, No. 22 (2 June 2005), 1-2. "Villa Rica Old Library" http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc34718.php "Villa Rica Old Library Update," http://moderngeorgia.wordpress.com/2006/04/19/villa-rica-library/ Villa Rica, Georgia" http://www.openencyclopedia.net/index.php/Villa_Rica%2C_Georgia</ref>

====Historical markers====
[[File:SiteOfVillaRicaExplosion.jpg|thumb|right|Berry's Pharmacy with historical marker out front]]
{{Main|Villa Rica Historical Markers}}

Villa Rica currently has four [[historical marker]]s. The first one was erected in 1994 marking the birthplace of [[Thomas A. Dorsey]], the father of [[gospel music|gospel songs]]. Dorsey learned about music as a child at Mt. Prospect Baptist Church. After leaving Villa Rica, Dorsey became a famous [[blues]] musician known as Georgia Tom. After the death of his first wife and son, he returned to [[religious music]], but the influence of the blues resulted in the creation of a new style of music which was eventually referred to as gospel.

The second historical marker was erected in 2003 with information about the grove, the ancestral home of the Tyson family. Having moved here in 1853, the Tysons are among the oldest families in Villa Rica.

The third historical marker was erected in 2007 on the 50th anniversary of the Villa Rica Explosion. The explosion was caused by a [[gas leak]] in Berry's Pharmacy which completely destroyed that building and three neighboring buildings. Twelve people died and twenty others were injured. In terms of injury and loss of life, the explosion remains the most catastrophic event in [[Carroll County, Georgia|Carroll County]] history.

The fourth was erected 2011 by Villa Rica Historic Preservation Commission. While the resolve of the freedom riders was challenged by violence elsewhere, they passed through Villa Rica without serious incident on May 14, 1961.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=42416 | title=Freedom Riders Historical Marker }}</ref>

==== September 2009 flooding ====
[[File:Carroll County Flood.jpg|thumb|A rush of water carries away a tree and other debris in Carroll County.]]
On September 21, 2009, the biggest flood in [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]'s history impacted Villa Rica. It caused nearly 500 million dollars in damage to the state.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Georgia|first=Howard Perlman, USGS South Atlantic Water Science Center -|title=USGS South Atlantic Water Science Center - Georgia: September 2009 Flooding Information and Data|url=http://ga.water.usgs.gov/flood/flooding-sept09/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100909232111/http://ga.water.usgs.gov/flood/flooding-sept09/|archive-date=September 9, 2010|access-date=2016-09-29|website=ga.water.usgs.gov}}</ref> This event caused damage to water lines and [[infrastructure]], causing many of the residents to go without water for nearly a week.