The Georgia Marble Company was founded in 1884 by Samuel Tate. Tate leased out all the land in Pickens County, Georgia , which contained rich Georgia marble . Pickens County has a vein of marble 5 to 7 miles (8.0 to 11.3 km) long, a half mile wide, and up to 2,000 feet (610 m) deep.
8-682: In the 1830s Henry Fitzsimmons established the first marble quarry in Pickens County, which was part of the Murphy Marble Belt. In 1884, Samuel Tate founded the Georgia Marble Company, and leased out the land for others to use. In 1905 Colonel Sam Tate partnered with Dawson Mathias Caldwell and the two became co-presidents and general managers of the company. The business grew rapidly, until concrete began to replace marble in buildings. In 1969, with business falling,
16-588: A variety of colors. Numerous company buildings and Tate community structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the Georgia Marble Company and Tate Historic District . Etowah River The Etowah River is a 164-mile-long (264 km) waterway that rises northwest of Dahlonega , Georgia , north of Atlanta . On Matthew Carey's 1795 map the river was labeled "High Town River". On later maps, such as
24-564: The Endangered Species List . Country singer-songwriter Jerry Reed made the Etowah the home of the wild, misunderstood swamp dweller Ko-Ko Joe in the 1971 song " Ko-Ko Joe ". The fictional character, who is reviled by respectable people but apparently dies a hero while saving a child's life, is alternately known as the "Etowah River Swamp Rat" in the song. Reed, a native of Atlanta, took some liberties with Georgia geography in
32-406: The 1839 Cass County map (Cass being the original name for Bartow County), it was referred to as "Hightower River", a name that was used in most early Cherokee records. The large Amicalola Creek (which flows over Amicalola Falls ) is a primary tributary near the beginning of the river. The Etowah then flows west-southwest through Canton, Georgia , and soon forms Lake Allatoona . From the dam at
40-466: The Etowah, their confluence now flooded by Lake Allatoona. Allatoona Creek is another major tributary, flowing north from Cobb County and forming the other major arm of the lake. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names officially named the river in 1897. The river ends at 571 feet (174 m) above mean sea level . The river is home to the Cherokee darter and Etowah darter , which are listed on
48-491: The company was purchased by Jim Walter Corporation. Over the next few decades it changed hands several times, passing through ownership by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Company, Hillsborough Holding Corporation, First Chicago Corporation and IMERYS. On January 7, 1946, the Etowah River in nearby Cherokee County reached a depth of 26.7 feet (8.1 m), and flooded the county including the Georgia Marble Company plant, which
56-765: The lake, it passes Cartersville and the Etowah Indian Mounds archaeological site. It then flows to Rome, Georgia , where it meets the Oostanaula River and forms the Coosa River at their confluence . The river is the northernmost portion of the Etowah-Coosa-Alabama-Mobile Waterway , stretching from the mountains of north Georgia to Mobile Bay in Alabama . The Little River is the largest tributary of
64-572: Was covered with one foot of water. In 2003, the dimension stone division of Georgia Marble Company was acquired by Polycor. The company's mines contain some of the best quality marble, and almost every type of marble found in the USA. The marble, when exposed to the weather tends to become less durable from acid rain. The mine is plentiful and every variety with every size is extractable with machinery, and transported by railroad. Types of marble include crystallized marble, and white sanctuary marble ranging in
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