Located on the banks of the Chattahoochee, the founding of Roswell dates back to the time when the Cherokee nation ruled the earth. Originally, white people were banned from entering land inhabited by Cherokees, but that law was often ignored. The history of Roswell dates back to the Trail of Tears. The city of Roswell, like much of North Georgia, was once part of the Cherokee Nation.
With the discovery of gold on Cherokee land in 1829, Georgia rapidly expanded its control over the territory, and most of the land was drawn in land lotteries in which the Indians themselves were excluded. In 1838, all the remaining Cherokees were expelled from the state. The Indians traveled west along a path that would become known as the Trail of Tears. The search for gold was the last driving force behind the expulsion of the Cherokees. Roswell Mills Roswell King oversaw the construction of the Roswell cotton mill, which was completed in 1839. From its indigenous Cherokee heritage to the Gold Rush and, later, the beginnings of an industrial city devastated by the Civil War, Roswell now houses a wide variety of excellent shops, museums and restaurants, many of which are located in the same buildings that shaped Roswell's history.
In 1829, Roswell King, a successful businessman, landowner and slaver from Darien, Georgia, traveled on horseback to the beautiful mountainous region of North Georgia to investigate the prospects for gold mining.
