Roswell, Georgia | |
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 Roswell City Hall | |
 Flag  Seal  | |
 Show Roswell Show Fulton County Show Georgia Show the United States | |
| Coordinates:34°02′21″N84°21′05″W / 34.03917°N 84.35139°W /34.03917; -84.35139 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Georgia |
| County | Fulton |
| Incorporated | February 16, 1854; 171 years ago (1854-02-16) |
| Named after | Roswell King |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Kurt Wilson (R) |
| • City Administrator | Randy Knighton |
| • City Council | Sarah Beeson, Mike Palermo, Christine Hall, Peter Vanstrom, William Morthland, Lee Hills |
| Area | |
• Total | 38.91 sq mi (100.77 km2) |
| • Land | 38.41 sq mi (99.48 km2) |
| • Water | 1.27 sq mi (3.29 km2) 3.1% |
| Elevation | 1,050 ft (320 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 92,833 |
| • Density | 2,279.4/sq mi (880.08/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP codes | 30075-30077 |
| Area code | 770/678/404 |
| FIPS code | 13-67284[3] |
| GNIS feature ID | 2404651[2] |
| Website | roswellgov.com |
Roswell is a city in northernFulton County, Georgia, United States. At the official2020 census, the city had a population of 92,883, making Roswell the state'sninth largest city.[4] A suburb ofAtlanta, Roswell has an affluentNational Register Historic District.[5]
In 1830, while on a trip to northern Georgia,Roswell King passed through the area of what is now Roswell and observed the great potential for building acotton mill alongVickery Creek. Since the land nearby was also good for plantations, he planned to put cotton processing near cotton production.
Toward the middle of the 1830s, King returned to build a mill that would soon become the largest inNorth Georgia –Roswell Mill. He brought with him 36 enslaved Africans from his own coastal plantation, plus another 42 skilled enslaved carpenters bought inSavannah to build the mills. The enslaved built the mills, infrastructure, houses, mill worker apartments, and supporting buildings for the new town. The enslaved Africans brought their uniqueGeechee culture, language, and religious traditions from the coast to north Georgia.
King invited investors from the coast to join him at the new location. He was also joined by Barrington King, one of his sons, who succeeded his father in the manufacturing company. Archibald Smith was one of the planters who migrated there to establish a new plantation, also bringing enslaved African Americans from the coastal areas.
Shortly after 1832 a survey of the area was conducted byNathan Crawford Barnett as part of theCherokee Purchase in preparation for the sixth state administrated land lottery culminating in theCherokee removal.[6][7]
Barrington Hall (the home of Barrington King), Smith Plantation (the home of Archibald Smith) and Bulloch Hall (the childhood home of President Theodore Roosevelt's mother,Mittie Bulloch) have been preserved and restored. They are now open to the public. According to the 1850 Slave Schedules, these three "founding families", together with the next three largest planters, held 192 slaves, 51% of the total 378 slaves held in Roswell District. Archibald Smith had a 300-acre (1.2 km2) cotton plantation. According to the 1850 Census, Barrington King held 70 enslaved Blacks. Half of them were under the age of 10. These enslaved worked in the Barrington's household. Barrington King "leased" or "rented" some of his enslaved adult males to the Roswell Manufacturing Company, but they did not work around the mill machinery.
The Roswell area was part ofCobb County when first settled, and thecounty seat ofMarietta was a four-hour (one-way) horseback ride to the west. Since Roswell residents desired a local government, they submitted a citycharter forincorporation to theGeorgia General Assembly. The charter was approved on February 16, 1854.
By the time of theCivil War, the cotton mills employed more than 400 people, mostly women. Given settlement patterns in thePiedmont region, they were likely ofScots-Irish descent. As the mill increased in production, so did the number of people living in the area.
During the Civil War, the city was captured byUnion forces under the leadership of GeneralKenner Garrard. Under orders of GeneralSherman, Garrard shipped the mill workers north to prevent them from returning to work if the mills were rebuilt. This was a common tactic of Sherman to economically disrupt the Confederate rebellion. The mill was burned, but the houses were left standing. The ruins of the mill and the 30-foot (9.1 m) dam that was built for power still remain. Most of the town's property was confiscated by Union forces. The leading families had left the town to go to safer places well before the Civil War, and arranged for the enslaved people to be taken away from advancing Union troops, as was often the practice. Some slaves may have escaped to freedom beyond Union lines.
After the war, Barrington King rebuilt the mills and resumed production. While manyfreedmen stayed in the area to work as paid labor on plantations or in town, others migrated to Fulton County and Atlanta for new opportunities. The South suffered an agricultural depression resulting from the effects of the war and the end of slavery in the United States.
According to the census, the population of Cobb County decreased slightly from 14,242 in 1860, to 13,814 in 1870. The proportion of African-Americans decreased more, from 27% to 23%. During those years, nearby Fulton County more than doubled in population, from 14,427 to 33,336. The effects of dramatic African-American migration can be seen by the increase in Fulton County from 20.5% slave in 1860 to 45.7% colored (Black) in 1870.
At the end of 1931, the United States was in the midst of theGreat Depression. The difficult economic conditions droveMilton County, Roswell's neighboring county to the north (note: much of what is now Roswell was part of Milton County already), to merge in its entirety with Fulton County, Roswell's neighboring county to the south. To facilitate the merger, Roswell was ceded from Cobb County to become part of Fulton County. This became effective the 9th day of May in 1932. Roswell filed all legal records, including vital statistics, real estate, and the results of torts with the county clerk of Cobb before this date; with the county clerk of Fulton, after this date.
Roswell is located in northern Fulton County. It is bordered to the north byMilton, to the northeast byAlpharetta, to the east byJohns Creek, to the southeast byPeachtree Corners inGwinnett County, to the south bySandy Springs, to the west by unincorporated land inCobb County, and to the northwest by the city ofMountain Park and by unincorporated land inCherokee County. The southern boundary of the city follows theChattahoochee River.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, Roswell has a total area of 37.0 square miles (100.8 km2), of which 40.7 square miles (105.5 km2) is land and 1.3 square miles (3.3 km2), or 3.06%, is water.[5]
Roswell features aHumid subtropical climate, which is characterized by abundant precipitation that is spread evenly throughout the year.
| Climate data for Roswell, Georgia | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 49.2 (9.6) | 53.4 (11.9) | 62.4 (16.9) | 71.5 (21.9) | 78.4 (25.8) | 84.9 (29.4) | 87.4 (30.8) | 86.9 (30.5) | 81.3 (27.4) | 71.7 (22.1) | 62.3 (16.8) | 52.7 (11.5) | 70.2 (21.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 27.9 (−2.3) | 29.9 (−1.2) | 37.0 (2.8) | 44.7 (7.1) | 53.9 (12.2) | 61.9 (16.6) | 65.6 (18.7) | 65.2 (18.4) | 59.3 (15.2) | 46.7 (8.2) | 37.5 (3.1) | 30.7 (−0.7) | 46.7 (8.2) |
| Average rainfall inches (mm) | 4.9 (120) | 4.9 (120) | 6.0 (150) | 4.2 (110) | 4.3 (110) | 3.8 (97) | 4.5 (110) | 4.0 (100) | 3.8 (97) | 3.6 (91) | 3.7 (94) | 4.7 (120) | 52.3 (1,330) |
| Source:[8] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 479 | — | |
| 1880 | 1,180 | 146.3% | |
| 1890 | 1,138 | −3.6% | |
| 1900 | 1,329 | 16.8% | |
| 1910 | 1,158 | −12.9% | |
| 1920 | 1,227 | 6.0% | |
| 1930 | 1,432 | 16.7% | |
| 1940 | 1,622 | 13.3% | |
| 1950 | 2,123 | 30.9% | |
| 1960 | 2,983 | 40.5% | |
| 1970 | 5,430 | 82.0% | |
| 1980 | 23,337 | 329.8% | |
| 1990 | 47,923 | 105.4% | |
| 2000 | 79,334 | 65.5% | |
| 2010 | 88,346 | 11.4% | |
| 2020 | 92,833 | 5.1% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1850-1870[10] 1870-1880[11] 1890-1910[12] 1920-1930[13] 1940[14] 1950[15] 1960[16] 1970[17] 1980[18] 1990[19] 2000[20] 2010[21] 2020[22] | |||
| Race / Ethnicity(NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[23] | Pop 2010[24] | Pop 2020[22] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 59,870 | 58,008 | 58,745 | 75.47% | 65.66% | 63.28% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 6,620 | 10,066 | 10,694 | 8.34% | 11.39% | 11.52% |
| Native American orAlaska Native alone (NH) | 107 | 130 | 87 | 0.13% | 0.15% | 0.09% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 2,932 | 3,545 | 4,626 | 3.70% | 4.01% | 4.98% |
| Native Hawaiian orPacific Islander alone (NH) | 23 | 38 | 31 | 0.03% | 0.04% | 0.03% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 194 | 315 | 707 | 0.24% | 0.36% | 0.76% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 1,167 | 1,545 | 3,853 | 1.47% | 1.75% | 4.15% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 8,421 | 14,699 | 14,090 | 10.61% | 16.64% | 15.18% |
| Total | 79,334 | 88,346 | 92,833 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
According to the2020 United States census, there were 92,833 people, 35,944 households, and 25,529 families residing in the city.
In 2020, the racial and ethnic makeup of the city was 63.28% non-Hispanic white, 11.52% Black or African American, 0.09% Native American, 4.98% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.76% some other race, 4.15% multiracial, and 15.18% Hispanic or Latino of any race. In 2000, its makeup was 75.47% non-Hispanic white, 8.34% Black or African American, 0.13% Native American, 3.70% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.24% some other race, 1.47% multiracial, and 10.61% Hispanic or Latino of any race.[23]
According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $73,469, and the median income for a family was $103,698. The average income for households was $106,219 and the average income for families was $123,481. Males had a median income of $72,754 versus $45,979 for females. The per capita income for the city was $40,106. About 3.2% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.6% of those under age 18 and 0.7% of those age 65 or over.[25] In a 2022 estimate, the median household income was $130,008 with a per capita income of $65,061.[26]
TheConsulate-General of Honduras in Atlanta is located at Suite 3 in 600 Houze Way in Roswell.[27] The city's largest employers are theKimberly Clark Corporation,Wellstar North Fulton Hospital,Harry's Farmers Market, and the City Of Roswell.[28] A section of Route 400 between Roswell and Atlanta is known as the high tech corridor, where many technology firms like Kimberly Clark have factories or offices.[29] As of the 2006 census, one third of Roswell's 5.000 registered business were home based. The largest industries were retail, technology, food services, wholesale trade, and health care.[29]
Many Roswell residents work in nearbyAtlanta.[29]
Businesses with their headquarters in Roswell includeSnorg Tees,[30] Tripwire Interactive,[31] andPharsalia Technologies.[32]
Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System operates the Roswell Branch and the East Roswell Branch.[34]
The city maintains more than 900 acres (3.6 km2) of parkland, as well as three historic house museums that are former plantations.
A branch of theChattahoochee River National Recreation Area, a component of theNational Park System, is located in Roswell at Vickery Creek.
Roswell's local public schools are part of theFulton County School System.
State Route 9
State Route 92
State Route 120
State Route 140
State Route 400
Municipalities and communities ofFulton County, Georgia,United States | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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