Each of the five men suggested a name for the new town. Legend says they placed the names in a hat and Rome was chosen. Colonel Daniel R. Mitchell suggested Rome; Major Hemphill favored Hamburg; Colonel Zachariah B. Hargrove thought of Pittsburg; John Lumpkin preferred Warsaw; and Colonel Charles Smith put in the name, Hillsboro. Later he would start a town across one of the rivers and give it that name.

The cotton market blooms after the war.  As more north Georgia farmers begin raising the crop, and because of the city's highly developed transportation system, Rome becomes a cotton center in northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. By 1873 cotton trade was a major industry. Among the men attracted by the industry was Albert Shorter, who founded Shorter College.

The city experienced a growth and  expansion unlike any city in North Georgia. By 1880 the Nevin Opera House is completed. The same year long distance services are available. Electric lighting is installed and a new city hall is built. Electric streetcars make their debut in 1885.

By 1910 speeding cars were the topic of discussion. Stories in the newspapers over the automobile and how the wealthy citizens of Rome were speeding through its downtown streets began appearing. But when police officers attempted to crack down on the offenders, criticism from some of the town's movers and shakers was voiced.

By the 1950's Rome gradually shifts from the railroad to the automobile. Although the Martha Berry Highway (U.S. 27) was built through downtown, the high traffic of  Atlanta and Chattanooga bypassed the city by way of Highway 41.   Interstate 75, which roughly followed the same route as U.S. 41 also bypassed the city. (Every so often there is speculation of building a high speed limited access road to Rome, but as of 2003 no project has been started).

Throughout its history, Rome has been home to citizens whose influence reached beyond the city limits of this thriving town.  Ellen Axson Wilson spent the majority of her childhood in Rome, GA. Her father, S.E. Axson, was the pastor of Rome's First Presbyterian Church. She later wed Woodrow Wilson.

In 1863 Nathan Bedford Forrest saves the city from the hands of Colonel Abel Streight and his Lightning Mule Brigade. Rome honors him as a hero. A statue in his honor is erected downtown, later moved to Myrtle Hill.

Working tirelessly with boys from poor families Martha Berry builds the Industrial School. In 1909, Ms. Berry begins her second school, for women, encouraged by President Teddy Roosevelt.  This school is known today as Berry College and offers an unusually beautiful environment for learning on a 28,000 acre campus making it one of the world's largest college campuses.  It also hosts the Martha Berry museum which chronicles Martha Berry's life as well as the school's history.

The population growth which Georgia has gone through in the past twenty years has not affected Rome like it has some of the surrounding cities like Cartersville and Calhoun.  From 1986 to 1995 the city annexed land totaling one-third of its present size, reducing the population density from over 1500 people per square mile in 1986 to just over 1000 in 1995. 

For those who live here in this beautiful, historic city that is not something to complain about.  Rome is an elegant little town with a multitude of historical sites and structures as well as beautiful parks and landmarks.  For many decades, the descendents of the founding settlers have been living and raising their families here in the Enchanted Land between the Rivers..................