Villa Rica (pronounced /ˌvɪləˈrɪkə/ ) is a city in Carroll and Douglas Counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population was 4,134 at the 2000 census.
Villa Rica is the birthplace of Thomas A. Dorsey, the father of gospel music - a festival is held in his honor each year. The following important figures were also born in Villa Rica: Coca-cola business tycoon and former mayor of Atlanta Asa Griggs Candler, former Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South and tenth president of Emory University Warren Akin Candler, former baseball star Fred "Dixie" Walker, former University of Georgia offensive tackle Ken Shackleford, and former NFL punter Herman "Thunderfoot" Weaver. Current residents include Musician Sean Deegan and former POW and reality show contestant Ron Young.
Geography
Topography
Villa Rica is located at 33°43′55″N 84°55′12″W / 33.73194°N 84.92°W / 33.73194; -84.92 (33.731909, -84.919982).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.7 square miles (32.9 km²), of which, 12.6 square miles (32.5 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.4 km²) of it (1.26%) is water. Villa Rica sits on the ridgeline that separates the Chattahoochee and the Tallapoosa river basins. Slightly more than half of Villa Rica lies within Carroll County, Georgia and the remaining portion lies within Douglas County, Georgia.
Climate
Villa Rica has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) according to the Köppen classification system, with hot, humid summers and mild to chilly winters by the standards of the United States. On average, the warmest month is July. The highest recorded temperature was 103 °F (39 °C) in 1980. On average, the coolest month is January. The lowest recorded temperature was −9 °F (−22.8 °C) in 1985. The most precipitation on average occurs in March. Despite its significant physical distance from the Gulf of Mexico (250 miles) and the Atlantic Ocean (260 miles), on rare occasion Villa Rica is impacted by hurricanes, sometimes severely. Tornadoes are a more common occurrence in the area although not usually as severe as the those that occur in the midwest United States.
History
The location which was to become Villa Rica was originally settled in 1826 along what is now Dallas Highway. 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). One mile south was Chevestown, owned by Allison Cheeves. Hixtown and Cheevestown moved to Villa Rica's present location in 1882 when the railroad was built. 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. The city was incorporated as Villa Rica in 1881. The name Villa Rica is derived from Spanish for "rich village" and the city’s name change was done to help promote the gold in the area.
Old Villa Rica (Hixtown)
Shortly after the arrival of the wagons in 1826, gold was discovered here. 1826 was also the year that Carroll County was created and named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Maryland because he was the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence. Although it did not develop into the large gold rush that would strike Georgia a few years later, there was a small gold rush in Villa Rica in the late 1820’s. When the Georgia Gold Rush took hold 1829, most of the Villa Rica miners moved northeast to the Dahlonega area. Nevertheless, some mining continued in the area, with several hundred men employed in nearby mines. In 1832, Hixtown had over 2,000 residents (60% of the county’s population). Gold lots were $500 per acre compared to $2 per acre for land elsewhere in the county. There were at least 19 active gold mines. By 1860, the gold supplies in the area had been largely exhausted.
Early Villa Rica had a Wild West atmosphere complete with Indians, horse thieves, and vigilante justice. The Creek Indian village was located on Sweetwater Creek east of town. They were hunters, not warriors, and were friendly toward the white settlers eventually taking on work amongst the settlers. Townspeople were invited to Creek celebrations including a three day festival held each autumn with lots of food and activities. At some point later in the 1830s, the Creeks moved to either Arkansas or Oklahoma but local records are unclear whether or not this was by choice or part of the Trail of Tears.
The local horse thieves were known as the Pony Club and the vigilantes were the Slicks. 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. The Slicks won the fight and the Pony Club demanded a Grand Jury try the Slicks on charges of assault and battery with intent to kill. However, the jury ended up commending the Slicks and thanking them for their work.
New Villa Rica
With the arrival of the new railroad line, Hixtown and Cheevestown combined to become the new City of Villa Rica. The first train rolled through town in June 1882. A round trip ticket from the Union Passenger Depot in Atlanta was only $1.00.
This young community experienced two disastrous fires almost immediately. The first fire occurred in the business section on Montgomery Street in 1890. An entire block of stores composed of entirely wooden buildings was destroyed. The second fire occurred Monday night, July 27, 1908. The fire was bolstered by heating oil and chemicals from the drug store in which it started. Because of the strength of the fire, much of the focus was on saving the stock of the affected stores. In all, one quarter of Villa Rica's business district was destroyed in three hours..
Bankhead Highway was surveyed and eventually passed though Villa Rica in 1917. Named for Alabama Senator , it was the second transcontinental highway in the United States and the first all weather one. In the 1930s it was rerouted though town taking down the Velvin Hotel and extending Montgomery Street westward. It was a main east-west route through the area until Interstate 20 opened in December 1977.
On 4 May 1961, The Freedom Riders passed through Villa Rica. This is the same day their bus was burned in Anniston, Alabama. At the time the bus station was in the former Scarlett's Pet Store which is beside the Old Library.
Historic Sites
- Wicks Tavern—c. 1830—Wicks Tavern is the oldest commercial structure in Carroll County. 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 1800s. The building is a classic example of the “Dutch”-style timber framing method. When the Georgia-Pacific Railroad came 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 that it never got one hundred plus years earlier. Wicks Tavern now serves as a living history museum and the home of Forrest Escort SCV and the Friends of Wicks Tavern.
- Stockmar Gold Mine—1800s-1900s—presently being preserved as a city park and future gold museum currently under construction (February 2007). About the Museum ... it's open now.
- Fullerville—1916-1956—small community northwest of Villa Rica which had several texitle mills (notably hosiery). Fullerville was granted a charter in 1916 but returned it to the state in 1956 at the same time allowed the city to be annexed into Villa Rica. The area retains its early 20 character. Its most notable feature is the Fullerville Jail which dates to 1828 on county property records.
- Mt. Prospect Baptist Church—The church was officially formed in July 1887. The first church building was erected in 1888-1890 on Beecher Hill (now Wilson St) and was dedicated on the 2nd Sunday in May, 1892. This was the building Thomas A. Dorsey learned about music in. 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 larg
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