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A−History
History · Rockmart

Rockmart’s post office opened in 1872, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #39 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 36 buildings. Below: maps from 1968 on and the census since 1880.

1872first post office
3on the National Register
32%homes built before 1940
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Rockmart began

When was Rockmart founded?

1872

The Rockmart post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 450 in 18802020 census: 4,732154 years

How historic is Rockmart?

A−

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Rockmart post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Rockmart’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rockmart is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #39 of 263 in Georgia. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rockmart’s overall grade.
Founding era1872, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194031.6% of homes (±11.2) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register3 listings, 38 historic buildings, 73.0 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 78%
NewerOlder
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 85%

Georgia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Georgia town has 10.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Rockmart’s 73.0 sits above most of its state (68% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 38 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Rockmart’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Rockmart are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Rockmart Downtown Historic District takes in 36 historic buildings.Old housesHalf of Rockmart’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rockmart’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Rockmart’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

3 listings protect 38 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
38
each building in a district counts
first listed
1995
Rockmart Woman's Club
Rockmart Woman's ClubRockmart Downtown Historic DistrictEuharlee Elementary School
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Bungalow/Craftsman1
Colonial Revival1
Late 19th and 20th Century American Movements: Commercial Style1
Rockmart Woman's ClubBungalow/Craftsman
Rockmart Downtown Historic DistrictColonial Revival
All 3 listings
Euharlee Elementary SchoolBuilding · listed 2026

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story so far

Rockmart, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rockmart yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Rockmart is a town in Polk County, Georgia, United States. Its population was 4,732 at the 2020 census. It developed as a railroad depot town when the Southern Railway built a station in the area. The community was incorporated in 1872, and was named from abundant deposits of slate in the area. The Rockmart Downtown Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Its first post office opened in 1872. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,199 to 4,732 (+13%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Rockmart, 1872 to 1977

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1872Post officeThe Rock Mart post office opens
  3. 1879Born hereMary Cornelia Barker is born here
  4. 1890Born hereBill Calhoun is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1934Born hereNathan Dean is born here
  7. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1977Born hereDanny Roberts is born here
By decade

Rockmart, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Rockmart, Georgia Municipal Complex2015Rockmart, Georgia Municipal ComplexRockmart Art Center Theatre2008Rockmart Art Center TheatreCVTCPolksign2007CVTCPolksignCVTCPolk2007CVTCPolkGAMap-doton-Rockmart2005GAMap-doton-RockmartQuarry2004Quarry
On the map

Rockmart on the map, 1968 to 1973

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Rockmart. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Rockmart on the 1968 USGS mapRockmart on the 1973 USGS map1968Rockmart North sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Rockmart.

People over time

Rockmart, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,000188019001920194019601980200020204,732

Grew from 450 people in 1880 to 4,732 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Rockmart’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Rockmart

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
D
Danny RobertsAmerican actor · b. 1977
B
Bill CalhounMajor League Baseball pitcher · b. 1890
Mary Cornelia Barker20 January 1879–15 September 1963 , schoolteach… · b. 1879
N
Nathan DeanGeorgia State Senator · b. 1934
H
Harry DeanAmerican baseball player · b. 1915
Tommie Dora BarkerAmerican librarian, founding dean of Emory Libr… · b. 1888
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Rockmart Quarrymine
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Rockmart
Rockmart Memorial GardensRose Hill

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Rockmart’s history

What year was Rockmart founded?

The Rockmart post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Rockmart rank for history?

Rockmart is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #39 of 263 in Georgia. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Rockmart?

Three places: the Rockmart Woman's Club (listed 1995), the Rockmart Downtown Historic District (2009) and the Euharlee Elementary School (2026).

How old are the homes in Rockmart?

32% of Rockmart’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.2 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1958.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.