If there is one place that I will definitely be going back to explore again in coming days that I haven’t seen much of in my past years back in Northwest Georgia, it is Acworth.

I never thought much of the city when I was a kid and we went back and forth between the Chattanooga area and Atlanta for various reasons, whether it be on the way to a vacation destination elsewhere, or to Atlanta proper for shopping.

Back then, when we wanted to go someplace with a greater selection we had Atlanta to choose from. More than 20 years later, I can say that without a doubt there’s less reasons I can find for navigating downtown Interstate traffic for certain items.

Here’s a good for instance: the other day Jess and I were once again on the hunt for someplace to get out of the house and enjoy a quick lunch, but also stop by and do some shopping with more variety. Not to put down the selection of our local Walmarts and grocery stores. By all means, for most items they accommodate the household needs just fine.

Others? Not so much.

So it’s a weekday afternoon, which turns out to be the perfect time to visit the Acworth Super Target and other stores surrounding it (Michaels, Best Buy and others) trying to find stuff that we can’t get here locally. For instance, I’d have to go out of town to find these particular spooky village pieces from Michaels if I wanted to buy some for Jess:

That leaves me with driving to Rome which I have seen enough of for a lifetime’s worth of Weekend Adventures, or going someplace else. Acworth seemed to fit the bill nicely.

However, it wasn’t so much the better box store shopping options that I wanted to experience, but taking in their downtown again.

Jess and I previously attended a birthday party for friends at a restaurant in downtown Acworth called Henry’s. It had been years since we’d been for one night, but we always promised each other to to try it out again.

After spending some hours finding about half of what we wanted on the day from Super Target and other stores, downtown Acworth and Henry’s fit the bill nicely for a late lunch before riding back home.

And oh man, the experience was just as good with a car picnic in the park not far off the downtown square than it was our first time with friends and acquaintances on a busy Saturday night.

In fact, shady spot we picked to eat our late lunch was picturesque and reminded me of a Charles Wysocki painting that were on puzzles I put together as a kid. Houses in styles of a century past have been restored. A new subdivision in the contemporary styling that fits in with the historic architecture stretches up from the park’s entrance. I wish I’d been more thoughtful enough to take more pictures during our trip downtown. Alas, all I got was the below shot of the park as it heads outward toward the trails.

What amazes me so much how compact it all is.

Because, once you leave the park, you’re basically right back where you started. You drive about two-tenths of a mile, cross some railroad tracks and go past the historic depot a second time and you’re right back on the main stretch of downtown.

What’s the best part about it? Acworth is by most directions only an hour away, and will probably use up about a quarter of a tank’s worth of gas at present. (Even with construction delays, depending on which way you come into town.)

We came back via a stretch previously unknown to me that took us past Braswell and I’m betting will be on the list of drives we take this fall to enjoy the changing colors of the foliage.

I know for sure that another trip to Acworth will be in store soon enough. There’s definitely more I want to explore of their downtown in days to come.

A brief history of Acworth

Acworth like the rest of Northwest Georgia was Cherokee territory until the 1830’s, and the existence of the town was key to the Western and Atlantic Railroad, who completed a watering station for locomotives on the Cobb-Bartow border in the early 1840’s. The town received its name thanks to Western and Atlantic Railroad engineer Joseph L. Gregg, who named it for his hometown in New Hampshire.

Captured in 1864 during the Atlanta campaign by Union forces, Sherman’s troops called the town “Little Shanty” based on its proximity to Kennesaw, then known as “Big Shanty.”

Of note, you can still find their historic railroad station in downtown, and is a great spot for train watching on the rail lines connecting Chattanooga and Atlanta.

Like much of the Northwest Georgia area and around Atlanta, textiles were a big part of the development of the city in the early 1900’s, and three mills eventually called Acworth home until the 1980’s.

Acworth’s growth over the past years has been fueled by the expansion of the Atlanta Metro area, and is one of the I-75 communities who has gone from only a under 20,000 inhabitants to more than that in the past 20 years.

Acworth’s proximity to Lake Allatoona makes it also attractive for outdoor activities. Enough so that in 2017, it was home to the Wakeboarding National Championship.

How to get there

Really, there’s just a few ways to navigate to Acworth without too many headaches. One of the easiest is to take Highway 113 from Rockmart toward Cartersville, and head toward the interstate but get on Highway 41 South instead. Go a little ways, and you’ll end up in the city. Note: construction traffic on this route might not make it the best…

You can take the interstate should you prefer that instead with an exit only a few miles down the road from Cartersville.

However, Jess and I found a pretty back way that uses Braswell Mountain Road heading there, a left from there onto Highway 61 until you reach Dabbs Bridge Road, which you’ll hang a right on. Take that until it becomes Cobb Bridge Road, then Third Army Road, and take a right onto Old Highway 41. That’ll put you onto North Main Street and onward into town.

It took us an hour and change or so from the back door to downtown Acworth, and an hour back by the time the driving was done. We spent no more than half a tank of gas, but in a more fuel efficient sedan you can probably get away with around a third of a tank of gas, round trip.