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The City of Rockmart
—  City  —
Location in Polk County and the state of Georgia
Coordinates: 34°0′14″N 85°2′57″W / 34.00389°N 85.04917°W / 34.00389; -85.04917Coordinates: 34°0′14″N 85°2′57″W / 34.00389°N 85.04917°W / 34.00389; -85.04917
Country	United States
State	Georgia
County	Polk
Established	1872
Webpage	http://www.rockmart-ga.gov/
Government
• Type	Mayor-Council
• Mayor	Steve Miller
• City Manager	Jeff L. Ellis
• City Clerk	Pam Herring
Area
• Total	4.3 sq mi (11.3 km2)
• Land	4.3 sq mi (11.2 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation	781 ft (238 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	4,199
• Density	900/sq mi (342.5/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	30153
Area code(s)	770
FIPS code	13-66276[1]
GNIS feature ID	0356502[2]

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Rockmart is a city in Polk County, Georgia. The population was 4,199 at the 2010 census.

Geography[link]

Rockmart is located at 34°00′14″N 85°02′57″W / 34.003952°N 85.049202°W / 34.003952; -85.049202.^[3]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11 km²), of which 4.3 square miles (11 km²) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) (0.69%) is water.

Demographics[link]

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 3,870 people, 1,541 households, and 1,027 families residing in the city. The population density was 892.0 people per square mile (344.3/km²). There were 1,681 housing units at an average density of 387.5 per square mile (149.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.82% White, 18.48% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.39% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.50% of the population.

There were 1,541 households out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.6% were married couples living together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 84.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,171, and the median income for a family was $36,906. Males had a median income of $31,714 versus $22,381 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,272. About 12.8% of families and 16.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.3% of those under age 18 and 14.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education[link]

Rockmart is a part of the Polk School District.

Rockmart has one high school, Rockmart High School (encompassing grades 9-12), attended by students from the surrounding community of Aragon. Rockmart High School has many sports and extra curricular activities including football, soccer, and Band. Rockmart High School's Band serves as a major source of pride for the community. The city also has a middle school, Rockmart Middle School (encompassing grades 6-8), two elementary schools, Eastside Elementary School and Vanwert Elementary School. There is also the Polk County campus of Georgia Northwestern Technical College which is located in Rockmart.

It was the home of the now closed Anneewakee Treatment Center for Emotionally Disturbed Youth.

Downtown Rockmart (Left Side).

Downtown Rockmart (Right Side).

Main Attractions[link]

Rockmart Art Center Theatre.

Performing Arts is a major attraction in Rockmart. When the new Rockmart High School was built, there was no performance space added. Because of this, the Rockmart Thespians use the historic Rockmart Art Center Theatre for their performances. They have performed several award winning shows, many of which have won Region AA One Act Competition, and Placed at State AA One Act Competition. Most recently,^[when?] RHS Thespians performed Seussical, the Musical which placed 2nd at Region One Act. They won Best Set, Best Costume, Best Ensemble, and Best Actor for the region. In October 2008 the Rockmart High School Thespians placed First Place at Region AA One Act Competition, with their performance of Godspell. The RHS Thespians took their show to State AA One Act competition, and placed 3rd out of four schools.^[4]

Also a very important part of performing arts in Rockmart is the Rockmart High Marching Yellow Jackets. The band won a best in show at the 2006 and 2008 Golden River Marching Festival. In these competitions the drumline as well as other sections of the band and auxiliary sections, such as tubas, colorguard and danceline have been seen as being some of the best in Northwest Georgia.

There is also a chorus class taught at Rockmart High School, which performs several concerts a year. A city-wide chorus also provides entertainment to the community.

Expansion[link]

In the mid 1990s, Rockmart saw a boom in its expansion. Eating establishments, shopping areas, and several new housing areas are appearing more in the Rockmart area. In 2007, a Walmart Supercenter store was opened.

Recreation[link]

• Nathan Dean Complex
• Silver Comet Trail and Riverwalk Park^[5]
• Rockmart City Parks^[6]

Election 2011[link]

On December 6, 2011, in Rockmart's Mayoral run-off election, former Rockmart City Councilman Steve Miller unseated longtime Mayor Curtis Lewis by a count of 20 votes.

It was a close contest as four candidates squared off in the general election.

On November 8, the final result was as follows: Lewis, 190, for 35.71 percent of the vote; Miller, 193, (36.28 percent); Mike Bradley, 124 (23.31 percent); and Brenda C. Palmer, 25 (4.7 percent). Due to city rules, this did not guarantee Miller's victory. Seeing as no candidate won 51% of the vote, Miller and Lewis went into the run-off election on December 6.

On December 6, ballot results posted outside the Rockmart precinct around 7:10 p.m., combined with the results of early voting tallied at the Polk County elections office in Cedartown, indicate Miller won the mayoral runoff with 220 votes, to Lewis’ 200.

Rockmart also had a contested city council race on November 8. Miller’s vacant council seat was open due to his decision to resign and run for mayor. Earl Joe Henderson easily defeated challenger Jimmy McDowell. Henderson tallied 109 votes, for 59.24 percent of the total, to McDowell’s 75 votes (40.76 percent).

Rockmart voters also decided two alcohol referendums, which appear to have passed.

The first referendum was to allow Sunday sales of alcohol by the drink in restaurants. Tuesday’s unofficial totals have the referendum passing, with 271 “yes” votes (51.62 percent) to 254 “no” votes (48.38 percent).

However, election officials said this 17-vote margin is small enough that the 28 provisional ballots awaiting certification could potentially change the outcome.

The second referendum, however, was approved by a larger margin and could not be affected by the provisional ballots. Voters approved a referendum to allow package sales of beer and wine at stores between the hours of 12:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. on Sundays. The referendum passed with 283 “yes” votes (53.5 percent) to 246 “no” votes (46.5 percent).

Miller will be sworn in January 2012.^{[dated info]} The mayoral term is four years. His first term will expire in January 2015.

References[link]

v t e Municipalities and communities of Polk County, Georgia, United States County seat: Cedartown Cities Aragon Braswell‡ Cedartown Rockmart Town Taylorsville‡ Unincorporated communities Etna Fish Creek Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties