Yup, you read that right! You are looking at the very first outdoor wall advertisement for…read moreCoca-Cola!!! The plaque says it was placed on this wall in 1894 and restored in 1989... although I suspect it has been refreshed many times since then because it looks amazingly new! According to the Carterville-Bartow County visitors Bureau, it was authenticated by the Coca-Cola Company itself as the first sign of its kind to advertise for the company. That makes this sign 127 years old. How cool is that! Oh, and if you didn't know, Dr. John Pemberton (a local Atlanta Pharmacist) sold the first glass of Coca-Cola at Jacobs' Pharmacy in downtown Atlanta on May 8, 1886. It is said Pemberton's recipe contained cocaine in the form of an extract of the coca leaf, thus the "Coca" and the "Cola" comes from the kola nut. It is also said that back in those days, cocaine was legal and a common ingredient in medicines. Makes you wonder how many old school medicines may have inspired inventions... LOL 2021 / 5

I recently visited the Town of Cartersville, GA and came across a number of important sites…read morehighlighting African-American History. I was pleased to discover my 2nd Bench By The Road after recently (and quite accidentally) finding my first one on Hilton Head Island inside Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park. SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS SITE To commemorate the role of African-Americans in building the historic W&A railroad and the Carterville Train Depot. Starting in the 1840's, enslaved men, women, and children toiled in the construction of the railroad and the depot. After the Civil War, African-American convict lease laborers repaired and expanded the tracks. During the GREAT MIGRATION, these same railroads provided the first steps to freedom for blacks in Cartersville who were seeking a better way of life in the north and the west. Throughout the South, rail lines and the train depots that facilitated their use are important sites of memory in African-American history, as they document the labor of those who were enslaved and the pathways of freedom & return for their descendants. [quoted from plaque below bench] *** The Bench by the Road Project is a memorial history and community outreach initiative of the Toni Morrison Society. The Project was launched on February 18, 2006, on the occasion of Toni Morrison's 75th Birthday. The name "Bench by the Road" is taken from Morrison's remarks in a 1989 interview with World Magazine where she spoke of the absences of historical markers that help remember the lives of Africans who were enslaved and of how her fifth novel, Beloved, served this symbolic role: "There is no place you or I can go, to think about or not think about, to summon the presences of, or recollect the absences of slaves . . . There is no suitable memorial, or plaque, or wreath, or wall, or park, or skyscraper lobby. There's no 300-foot tower, there's no small bench by the road. There is not even a tree scored, an initial that I can visit or you can visit in Charleston or Savannah or New York or Providence or better still on the banks of the Mississippi. And because such a place doesn't exist . . . the book had to". Because the Toni Morrison Society wanted to be a place where scholars and readers could, through their engagement with Morrison's novels, remember not only slavery but also many of the forgotten moments in African American history, the Society chose, when it was founded in 1993, "A Bench by the Road" as its motto. The Bench by the Road Project extends the Society's mission. While there have been several notable African American history and slavery museums built since 1989, as well as a number of outstanding state and federal initiatives honoring the stories of the African American past, the goal of the Bench by the Road Project is to address the lament that Toni Morrison expressed in her interview by placing Benches and plaques at sites commemorating significant moments, individuals, and locations within the history of the African Diaspora. [quoted from TMS website] *** OTHER BENCH SITES 1st - African Slave Trade Point of Entry Sullivan's Island, SC 2nd - Site on Underground Railroad Oberlin, OH 3rd - Mississippi Freedom School Hattiesburg, MS 4th - The 20th Arrondissement Paris, France 5th - In Memory of Caesar Robbins Concord, MA 6th - Lisner Theater, GW University Washington, D.C. 7th - First Congregational Church Atlanta, GA 8th - Freedom Park Mitchellville, SC 9th - Walden Woods Lincoln, MA 10th - In Honor of Aime Cesaire Fort-de-France, Martinique 11th - Eden Cemetery Collingdale, PA 12th - Margaret Walker Center, JS University Jackson, MS 13th & 14th Bench Placements Middletown, DE 15th - In honor of Cynthia Hesdra Nyack, NY 16th - Hosanna A.U.M.P. Church Lincoln University, PA 17th - Baton Rouge Bus Boycott Baton Rouge, LA 18th - Inquirers Book Club - Woodruff Library Atlanta, GA 19th - Cozad-Bates House Cleveland, OH 20th - Schomburg Center for Research on Black Culture Harlem, NYC 21st - Library of Congress Washington, DC 22nd - Site on Underground Railroad Adrian, MI 23rd - South View Cemetery Atlanta, GA 24th - Home of Frederick Douglass New Bedford, MA 25th - Howard University Washington, DC 26th - Lincoln University Pennsylvania 27th - Cartersville Train Depot Cartersville, GA *** Morrison passed away 8/5/19 at the age of 88. She was the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. The idea and thought behind the Bench by the Road Project touched my heart and I look forward to seeing where they will place future benches and subsequently learn of the story behind the placement. 2021 / 10 Black History Series

This is an interesting park that you can find at the foot of the Allatoona Lake damn on the Etowah…read moreriver. It's also the on the edge of the former town of Etowah and the home of Cooper's Furnace - a huge truncated-pyramid of stacked, mortared stone originally used to smelt iron ore. The furnace is still standing but now cordoned off - also, while it's apparent that visitors could at one time get closer to the Allatoona Damn, on this day the road and access to that part of the park was blocked-off with no trespassing signs (it's unclear if on other days the area is accessible or not, we visited on the day after Thanksgiving). The area is lush with vegetation and includes a pavilion, play-area with one of those crazy jungle gyms, bathrooms, fixed barbecue boxes and picnic tables. It's a surprisingly large park that's only open for day visits so no camping. It's also a bit weird to access - you get off of i85 South of the park then travel first West, then North to get under the highway. Next you travel a road alongside the Etowah river to get to the park itself with is East of i85. Once in the park make sure you checkout the trails and overlook - we were just scoping it out and plan a return to walk the trails - on this day we weren't in the right shoes or clothing. It's apparently a pretty good fishing spot too so make use you bring your pole.

Just a beautiful ride on red top mountain road going to see 2 of my 12 grandchildren.read more

1 star solely because the ticket purchasing process is the most painful, user UNfriendly experience…read moreeverrrrrrr. Multiple people can have the same seats in their basket at once. If that happens, you essentially have to start over. You can only see one level of seating; to see the other you must backtrack and select a new section. You must purchase multiple seats in separate transactions - a "software glitch outside their control." All the eyerolls. A first year web designer could build a more intuitive, user friendly website.

Cute old school theater in downtown Cartersville. Nice intimate venue in a cool, old town. Enjoy…read morethe downtown area...

You know there has been several deaths contribute to fentanyl! One thing about Cartersville Police…read moredepartment they're very nice people but when you call to try to whistle blow on something you have to go through so many channels! And then when you get someone on the phone to try to explain to them they're so hateful and mean! So I'm seeing the reasons why people never say anything when it's going on! Because they clearly don't care when they don't have time to listen when you call to say something silent to save people's lives they're so hateful and mean and don't even want to listen to you and one hung the phone up on me and two weeks later a boy died from that same place that I tried to tell them about now I see the reasons why people never reported anything and that makes police officer's jobs hard! So great job Police department epic failure to listen.

Folks i n Cartersville might want to look at Sheriff Grady…read moreJudds Facebook site, Polk County, Fl

What a jewel nestled in the small town of Cartersville, Georgia! I'm a fan of western art and was…read morethrilled to visit a world class museum dedicated to the great art and artists of the American West. Our tour guide was very informative as she shared her knowledge of the collections on display. There is so much to see and absorb. Allow plenty of time to join the 60-90 minute afternoon tour and also go back on your own to see more than can be covered in a "short" 90 minutes.The museum building itself is a lovely architectural design. Definitely a "must visit" for anyone whose love of history includes stories and images of America's Western Heritage.

It had been over 4.5 years since we last visited the Booth Western Art Museum. It is a bit far for…read moreus to drive (on a regular basis) and there hadn't seemed to be much difference in the exhibits at that time versus our visit prior to that. We were staying overnight nearby so we opted to revisit on a weekend when our bank sponsors free admission. We parked in a large shared lot across the street that was about 90% full due to a local farmers' market. We arrived around 10:30 a.m. on a Saturday (they open at 10). My assumption was that we'd spent at most a couple of hours here. However, I was mistaken. My impression is that they have added / exchanged a significant percentage of the works on display over the last few years. There were definitely a lot of works I recalled seeing, but there were also many that were unfamiliar. All have associated plaques with notes (some about the context and some about the artists). I read many of these as I browsed. The artwork is probably 75% paintings and 25% sculptures (percentages vary based on the room / wing you are in). Over the 2 main floors, the galleries included: - a room showing examples of how works depicting the west evolved decade by decade for ~ 2 centuries. - rooms of general western works - themed rooms with subjects like 'cowboys' or 'native peoples' - a room devoted to new acquisitions - a separate 'gallery of the U.S. presidents' that is permanent - a room devoted to traveling exhibits - this one was an artist who painted western scenes (including national parks) with about 90% realism and 10% spiritual / fantasy elements. - a long hallway devoted to sculptures of a wide array of native tribes - a large gallery devoted to modern interpretations - including things like a Van Gogh inspired painting of a bull rider, some pop-art by Warhol, etc. - a room devoted mostly to military work - the burning of Atlanta, the battle of the Alamo, etc. We spent over 3.5 hours here and left mostly as we were getting tired. I think I covered most of the museum, but there were parts near the end where I spent less time. The museum also had a temporary photo exhibit in the basement area, as well as a cafe and gift shop. There grounds feature an array of larger sculptures, but it was in the upper 90s that day so we didn't linger outside. I recall liking this museum when I came here previously, but I enjoyed it even more on this most recent visit. I'll definitely try to return again.

Great place to visit in Cartersville, Georgia if you are near. Great selection of cars that rotated…read moreeach month. Great and friendly staff will help you through the journey.

We stopped at the Savoy Automotive Museum on a Sunday morning when they opened (10 a.m.). We had…read morevisited almost 5 years ago and were in the area again. We got free admission via a bank promotion. The site is quite large, with a few additional buildings / pavilions. They have a huge parking area. The staff was friendly when we arrived. The museum is a bit smaller than I recalled. That may be due to having visited a larger auto-themed museum a few months ago; maybe that skewed my perspective. Here, they have a long central hallway currently showing a series of NASCAR entries from the 1950s through the present. Some of the models recur, so it is a good overview of how the cars have evolved over the decades both in style and in how they are outfitted for racing. There are also several attached rooms with their own sets of vehicles. One featured a variety of Jeeps from the original military type, through mail delivery vehicles from the 80s, to variants from Japan, etc. Another room featured historical vehicles - concept cars, a car owned by Amelia Earhart, a van used by a civil rights organization on an island in South Carolina, etc. A third was devoted to luxury-type vehicles of various types. At one end of the main hall is a theater where they apparently show films once a month. Outside of that are older cars (Ford Model Ts) and a collection of car-themed artwork on the walls. From what I recall, they have changed out most of the vehicles versus what I recall from last time. They may have some that are museum-owned, but they appear to get quite a number of on-loan cars, which potentially makes the experience somewhat fresh on each visit. They also had a cafeteria, though we left before lunchtime. We spent about an hour here, though you could probably easily double that if you were more of a car enthusiast. This is definitely worth a stop.