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Villa Rica is a city in Carroll and Douglas Counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population was 4,134 at the 2000 census. Population estimates for 2007 indicate the population has more than tripled in seven years with 12,716 in the city.

Villa Rica is the birthplace of Thomas A. Dorseythe father of gospel music - a festival is held in his honor each year. The following important figures were also born in Villa Rica: Coca-cola business tycoon and former mayor of Atlanta Asa Griggs Candlerformer Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal ChurchSouth and tenth president of Emory University Warren Akin Candlerformer baseball star Fred "Dixie" Walkerformer University of Georgia offensive tackle Ken Shacklefordand former NFL punter Herman "Thunderfoot" Weaver. Current residents include Musician Sean Deegan and reality show contestant Ron Young.

Geography

Topography

Villa Rica is located at (33.731909-84.919982) .

According to the United States Census Bureauthe city has a total area of 12.7 square miles (32.9 km²)of which12.6 square miles (32.5 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.4 km²) of it (1.26%) is water. Villa Rica sits on the ridgeline that separates the Chattahoochee and the Tallapoosa river basins. Slightly more than half of Villa Rica lies within Carroll CountyGeorgia and the remaining portion lies within Douglas CountyGeorgia.

Climate

Villa Rica has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) according to the Köppen classification systemwith hothumid summers and mild to chilly winters by the standards of the United States. On averagethe warmest month is July. The highest recorded temperature was 103°F in 1980. On averagethe coolest month is January. The lowest recorded temperature was -9°F in 1985. The most precipitation on average occurs in March. Despite its significant physical distance from the Gulf of Mexico (250 miles) and the Atlantic Ocean (260 miles)on rare occasion Villa Rica is impacted by hurricanessometimes severely. Tornadoes are a more common occurrence in our area although not usually as severe as the those that occur in the midwest United States.

History

Old Villa Rica (Hixtown)

Shortly after the arrival of the wagons in 1826gold was discovered here. 1826 was also the year that Carroll County was created and named for Charles Carroll of CarrolltonMaryland because he was the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence. Although it did not develop into the large gold rush that would strike Georgia a few years laterthere was a small gold rush in Villa Rica in the late 1820's. When the Georgia Gold Rush took hold 1829most of the Villa Rica miners moved northeast to the Dahlonega area. Neverthelesssome mining continued in the areawith several hundred men employed in nearby mines. In 1832Hixtown had over 2,000 residents (60% of the county's population). Gold lots were $500 per acre compared to $2 per acre for land elsewhere in the county. There were at least 19 active gold mines. By 1860the gold supplies in the area had been largely exhausted.

Early Villa Rica had a Wild West atmosphere complete with indianshorse thievesand vigilante justice. The Creek Indian village was located on Sweetwater Creek east of town. They were huntersnot warriorsand were friendly toward the white settlers eventually taking on work amongst the settlers. Townspeople were invited to Creek celebrations including a three day festival held each autumn with lots of food and activities. At some point later in the 1830sthe Creeks moved to either Arkansas or Oklahoma but local records are unclear whether or not this was by choice or part of the Trail of Tears.

The local horse thieves were known as the Pony Club and the vigilantes were the Slicks. At firstthe Slicks would just hold Pony Club members caught stealing horses until a jury trial could be held. But Pony Club members usually had no trouble finding witnesses to prove their innocense so the Slicks eventually started holding their own trials and the guilty were whipped. Things came to a head during the election of 1832 when large numbers of Pony Club members and Slicks got into a brawl. The Slicks won the fight and the Pony Club demanded a Grand Jury try the Slicks on charges of assault and battery with intent to kill. Howeverthe jury ended up commending the Slicks and thanking them for their work.

New Villa Rica

With the arrival of the new railroad lineHixtown and Cheevestown combined to become the new City of Villa Rica. The first train rolled through town in June 1882. A round trip ticket from the Union Passenger Depot in Atlanta was only $1.00.

This young community experienced two disastrous fires almost immediately. The first fire occurred in the business section on Montgomery Street in 1890. An entire block of stores composed of entirely wooden buildings was destroyed. The second fire occurred Monday nightJuly 271908. The fire was bolstered by heating oil and chemicals from the drug store in which it started. Because of the strength of the firemuch of the focus was on saving the stock of the affected stores. In allone quarter of Villa Rica's business district was destroyed in three hours..

Bankhead Highway in the 1930s provided a boom to the city as well as the later construction of Interstate 20 in the 1970s. The Freedom Riders passed through Villa Rica on May 141961the same day their bus was burned in AnnistonAlabama.

Historic Sites

• Wicks Tavern -- c. 1830 -- Wicks Tavern is the oldest commercial structure in Carroll County. Wicks Tavern now serves as a living history museum and the home of Forrest Escort SCV and the Friends of Wicks Tavern.

• Stockmar Gold Mine -- 1800s-1900s -- presently being preserved as a city park and future gold museum currently under construction (February 2007).

• Fullerville -- 1916-1956 -- small community northwest of Villa Rica which had several texitle mills (notably hosiery). Fullerville was granted a charter in 1916 but returned it to the state in 1956 at the same time allowed the city to be annexed into Villa Rica. The area retains its early 20 character. Its most notable feature is the Fullerville Jail which dates to 1828 on county property records.

• Mt. Prospect Baptist Church -- The church was officially formed in July 1887. The first church building was erected in 1888-1890 on Beecher Hill (now Wilson St) and was dedicated on the 2nd Sunday in May1892. This was the building Thomas A. Dorsey learned about music in. The second church buildingbuilt in 1928was the first black owned church building in Carroll County. This building was destroyed by fire in February 1945. A new church building was immediately commissioned and completed in five months. In 2005work began on a larger sanctuary next to the existing one and the congregation moved into the new church March 112007.

• First Presbyterian Church of Villa Rica -- The church was organized as Villa Rica Presbyterian Church in 1855. A white frame building was constructed on Candler St in 1885 for worship. The building was moved to its current location in 1930 onto property donated by the family of Mr. W. B. Candler who had served as Clerk of Session from 1888 to 1921. The structure was bricked and a basement was added for Sunday School rooms. The mahogany pewspulpitand the stained glass windows were purchased from Old Wesley Memorial Church in Atlanta when it was torn down. The windows were made from a color formula that has been lost over timemaking them irreplaceable antiques. The Candler homewhich was situated behind the church building served the church in many capacities before it was torn down in 1998 and replaced with a new fellowship building.

• First United Methodist Church of Villa Rica -- Although historical documentation is sketchyit is believed that the Methodist Church built their first buildinga log cabinin 1830 making them the first church in the city. Around 1845a wooden church building was built. When Hixtown moved and Villa Rica was createdthe church elected to build a new white frame church. It was constructed in 1886 on the current church site. The old church was abandoned in 1890. The construction on the current church began in 1905 and was first used in July 1906.

Registered Historic Places

The North Villa Rica Commercial Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 312002. This district includes several blocks of buildingssome dating back to 1875which were built in the early commercial . The area houses the City of Villa Rica Police Department along with several antique storesrestaurantsand other commercial businesses. The boundary is basically North AvenueEast Gordon StWest Church Stand the Southern Railroad line.

The Williams Family Farm was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 252005. The farm-housebuilt in 1892is in excellent condition and sits in front of a Civilian Conservation Corps camp established in 1937 to help struggling farmers with their cotton fields. There are several outbuildings and an historic landscape. This farm is also known as the Williams-Mitchell Farm.

Historical Markers

Villa Rica currently has three historical markers. The first one was erected in 1994 marking the birthplace of Thomas A. Dorseythe father of gospel songs. Dorsey learned about music as a child at Mt. Prospect Baptist Church. After leaving Villa RicaDorsey became a famous blues musician known as Georgia Tom. After the tragic death of his first wife and sonhe returned to religious music but the influence of the blues resulted in the creation of a new of music which was eventually referred to as gospel.

The second historical marker was erected in 2003 with information about the grovethe ancestral home of the Tyson family. Having moved here in 1853the Tysons are amongst the oldest families in Villa Rica.

The third historical marker was erected in 2007 on the 50th anniversary of the Villa Rica Explosion. The explosion was caused by a gas leak in Berry's Pharmacy which completely destroyed that building and three neighboring buildings. Twelve people died and twenty others were injured. In terms of injury and loss of lifethe explosion remains the most catastrophic event in Carroll County history.

ArtsEntertainmentFestivals

• Thomas A. Dorsey Festival - Closest Saturday to July 1features Gospel music and Blues
• Gold Rush Festival -- Saturday after Labor Day.
• Homecoming parade and pep rally ( 2006's theme was Disco Feverfollowing 2005's theme Are you Ready to luau?)
• The movie Randy and The Mob was filmed mostly in Villa Rica in August 2005

Demographics

The 2000 Census

As of the census of 2000there were 4,134 people1,550 householdsand 1,114 families residing in the city. The population density was 329.2 people per square mile (127.1/km²). There were 1,769 housing units at an average density of 140.9/sq mi (54.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.32% White17.90% African American0.80% Native American0.27% Asian0.02% Pacific Islander1.06% from other racesand 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.18% of the population.

There were 1,550 households out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them49.9% were married couples living together17.9% had a female householder with no husband presentand 28.1% were non-families. 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.0% under the age of 189.9% from 18 to 2431.1% from 25 to 4420.1% from 45 to 64and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and overthere were 86.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,161and the median income for a family was $37,138. Males had a median income of $31,103 versus $21,516 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,310. About 11.4% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty lineincluding 11.1% of those under age 18 and 29.6% of those age 65 or over.

The Growth Boom

Over most of it's 180 year historyVilla Rica was a small rural railroad and factory town with a fairly stable population of around 4,000 people. This is in spite of the fact it's located only half an hour from downtown Atlanta. Howeverthroughout the 1990sa 2000+ acre tract of land surrounding a 210 acre lake known as both Val-Da-Mar Lake and Stockmar Lake got lots of interest from developers. One group proposed the creation of a Gone With the Wind theme park while others considered more standard ideas such as building homes and businesses.

What finally occurred was the creation of a subdivision named Mirror Lake which supplied the oft named lake with a third name. At the time the subdivision was proposedVilla Rica had approximately 1,500 homes. The Mirror Lake subdivision added over 2,000 homes in its original proposal and subsequent changes and additions have increased that number so that there will be almost 3,000 residences by the time the project is fully completed.

In additionthe substantial investment in Mirror Lake inspired other developers to begin proposing other projects around Villa Rica. Though the other developments were on a much smaller scaleall of the other building projects combined almost matched the Mirror Lake project in total number of residences. Villa Rica's population projections are as follows:

While such substantial growth cannot be sustainedsome growth will continue for years. The 2025 population projection is estimated to be 34,784.

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