Polk County: Discover Historic Sites and Trails

Discover Polk County through specific places and activities: historic sites in Cedartown, trails for different kinds of recreation, and notable traces of the past. The Big Spring brings together a distinctive landscape and Cherokee history; the Silver Comet Trail combines a nature experience with an important reference point for planning your trip.

Trails and activities in different places

The Silver Comet Trail is used by cyclists, runners, walkers, inline skaters, and horseback riders—for recreation as well as commuting. It can be accessed from the downtown areas of Rockmart and Cedartown. If the trail is important to your trip, you can compare these two towns as different reference points for your accommodation search and factor in your other planned visits. Access points may change, so check the latest trail information before your trip. In Alabama, the Silver Comet Trail connects with the Chief Ladiga Trail.

In Cedartown, the Cedartown Welcome Center is located in the depot right beside the Silver Comet Trail. It offers brochures and maps, restrooms, vending machines, and a bicycle repair station. Services may change, so it is a good idea to check the latest visitor information before planning a stop.

Highland Park in Cedartown offers a different kind of trail experience: its one-way trails are marked with numbers and difficulty levels; there are also markers for motorcycle and ATV trails. In Rockmart, the Prospect Valley Golf Course is a public 9-hole course. Trail markers and course details may change, so check this information before planning a visit.

History tied to specific places

The Cedartown Encampment Removal Site is a National Park Service-certified historic site on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. Signs along the route help visitors follow the Trail of Tears. In Cedartown, a memorial marker at the Sterling Holloway Birthplace also commemorates the actor known as the voice of Winnie the Pooh. These places reveal different aspects of local history without merging them into a single historic site.

The Cedartown Commercial Historic District has 64 buildings and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. The Old Mill tells another story of the area: it was built in 1848 for Asa Prior using enslaved labor and operated for nearly 100 years, grinding corn and wheat until 1945. The Cedartown Mural brings together well-known buildings and historic sites from the city in a collage. If you want to explore historic sites by car, you can use a map for a self-guided drive to sites in Polk County; confirm that the map is available before your trip.

The Polk County Historical Society Museum preserves the county’s history. Its grounds are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Cedartown Welcome Center also features memorabilia from the depot and numerous items commemorating Sterling Holloway. Together, these stops offer a reason to choose between architecture, local history, and personal memorabilia when planning your trip.

The Big Spring and other landscape features

The Big Spring in Cedartown is the second-largest limestone spring in the southern United States. On average, 4 million gallons of water flow from it each day. Its history also reaches far back: until the early 1800s, the Cherokee used it as a ball field and a place for ceremonial dances. Here, a natural feature and historical significance come together at one named site.

Those interested in longer hiking routes will find a section of the more than 300-mile Pinhoti Trail in Polk County, in the Santa Claus Mountain area. For a different kind of exploration, there is the Silver Comet Trail, with its diverse users and connection to the Chief Ladiga Trail in Alabama. These trails differ mainly in their described uses and regional routes; it is best to plan specific days around the places you want to visit.

Places to help plan your trip

If the Silver Comet Trail will shape your days, compare Cedartown and Rockmart as possible bases; if historic sites are your priority, Cedartown offers several of the points of interest mentioned here. Tailor your vacation rental search to your travel interests, without assuming specific accommodation features based on a location alone. Course and visitor service details may also change, so it is worth checking the latest information before making plans.

Discover more places in Polk County: Aragon. Discover more destinations: Colquitt County, Chatham, Walker County, Fulton, Tift.

Go to the main travel overview: Georgia.