Historic Sites in Rockdale County

The history of Rockdale County

Rockdale County was created by the Georgia legislature in 1870, during Reconstruction, from parts of Henry and Newton counties. Its name comes from the bed of granite that lies just beneath the soil across much of the area. Mound-building peoples lived here long before European contact, followed by the Muscogee (Creek) and Cherokee, and white settlers began arriving in the 1820s. The county seat, Conyers, owes its start to the railroad: in the 1840s banker W. D. Conyers bought land from blacksmith John Holcombe and turned it over to the Georgia Railroad, and a town grew up around the tracks and was incorporated in 1854. Textile manufacturing later supported a string of small mill villages, and when the mills declined several of those communities disappeared. Construction of Interstate 20 in the 1960s reversed the county's fortunes, bringing new residents who commuted to Atlanta. Visitors today can explore the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, a Trappist community founded in 1944; the exposed granite of Panola Mountain State Park; the Georgia International Horse Park, developed for the equestrian competitions of the 1996 Olympic Games; and the restored commercial blocks of Olde Town Conyers. Actress Holly Hunter and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist E. R. Shipp are among the county's notable natives and residents.

Sources: georgiaencyclopedia.org