On Bankhead Highway (U.S. 78) just west of South Candler Street, on the right when traveling east.
The Bank of Villa Rica was Carroll County’s oldest financial institution, and one of the oldest financial institutions in the State of Georgia. The bank was chartered with $15,000 of capital when it opened in 1899. This was one of the few banks that . . . — — Map (db m107248) HM
On South Carroll Street near South Carroll Road and Montgomery Street (U.S.78) (U.S. 78), on the left when traveling south.
The Villa Rica bus station, formerly located on this site, was on the route of the 1961 Freedom Riders that departed Washington, D.C. on May 4, 1961 with New Orleans, Louisiana, as its final destination.
Freedom riders were civil rights . . . — — Map (db m42416) HM
On Rockmart Road (Georgia Route 101) 0.2 miles north of North Dogwood Street, on the right when traveling north.
The Fullerville Jail served the city of Fullerville, Ga. from 1916 to 1956. According to former Fullervillions, the city’s first jail was made of wood and burned to the ground. According to former Fullervillions who witnessed the burning of the . . . — — Map (db m108708) HM
On Tyson Road, 0.5 miles north of Flat Rock Road, on the right when traveling north.
In the mid-1600s, John Tyson traveled from the British Isles to Virginia. Over the next 200 years, his descendents migrated to North Carolina and on to Georgia. Alexander, Clement, and Jehu Tyson and their mother Penelope settled this land in 1853. . . . — — Map (db m10041) HM
On North Carroll Road at East Church Street, on the right when traveling east on North Carroll Road.
This Amphitheater is located on the site of what was once the heart of commerce in Villa Rica for more than 100 years.
By 1900, the two–block area to the east of here was developed by the Villa Rica Cotton Oil Mill, whose . . . — — Map (db m111229) HM
On West Bankhead Highway (Georgia Route 78) at South Dogwood Drive, on the left when traveling west on West Bankhead Highway.
Thomas Andrew Dorsey, composer of over 400 blues and gospel songs, lived here following his birth in Villa Rica on July 1, 1899. At Mt. Prospect Baptist Church he was exposed to shape-note singing and at home learned to play a used pump organ, . . . — — Map (db m10043) HM
On North Carroll Road at Main Street (Georgia Route 61) when traveling south on North Carroll Road.
Thomas Andrew Dorsey was born July 1, 1899, in Villa Rica. He learned to play the piano as a young man. His blues style combined with southern Christian praise songs earned him the title “The Father of Gospel Music.”
His best known . . . — — Map (db m111198) HM
On Bankhead Highway (U.S. 78) at South Candler Street, on the left when traveling west on Bankhead Highway.
Around 11:00 a.m. on December 5, 1957, a natural gas leak under Berry’s Pharmacy caused an explosion that destroyed four buildings and damaged several others in Villa Rica’s downtown. The explosion killed twelve and injured twenty. The tragedy . . . — — Map (db m10044) HM
On Main Street (Georgia Route 61) at North Candler Street, on the right when traveling east on Main Street.
In the early 1900’s several textile mills and warehouses lined Villa Rica’s Main Street. The mills provided an economic stimulus for decades as the transition was made from agricultural to industrial products. The cotton mills paid cash wages . . . — — Map (db m107275) HM
