Cartersville Depot - Cartersville, GA
Posted by: YoSam.
N 34° 09.947 W 084° 47.758
16S E 703160 N 3782732
One of the few original Western and Atlantic Railroad depots still in existence
Waymark Code: WMPNKM
Location: Georgia, United States
Date Posted: 09/27/2015
Views: 1
County of attraction: Bartown County
Location of attraction: #1 Friendship Plaza, Cartersville
"One of the first things people notice about Cartersville, Georgia is the number of trains that go through every day. In fact, about two per hour - 50 per day - bisect downtown.
There are two bridges over the tracks and still some complain. But kids love them, and everybody jokes about them. Once, a jokester at the Convention & Visitors Bureau suggested "A Train Runs Through It," as a theme line for the City.
Anyway, the reason for dwelling on trains is that it's very appropriate that traffic stops for them 50 times daily. That's because most of the traffic stops in front of Friendship Plaza, Cartersville's downtown park, and the plaza is named in honor of the man responsible for bringing trains here in the first place more than 150 years ago. The man was Mark Anthony Cooper.
Now the reason it's Friendship Plaza instead of "Cooper Plaza" is that the name is taken from a unique monument Cooper commissioned which stands in the park. It's called "The Friendship Monument." Cooper commissioned the monument in 1857 to honor 38 friends who had aided him in a financial crisis, and it's believed to be the only monument in existence erected by a debtor to honor his creditors. Ironically trains are what got Cooper into financial trouble.
Revitalization of downtown Cartersville includes the new Friendship Plaza, where the Cooper Friendship Monument was dedicated in 2001." ~ Visit Georgia
Great photos and good information here: Traqin Depot
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