Roswell Real Estate

Roswell, Georgia

Roswell is a Fulton County city on the north bank of the Chattahoochee River, roughly twenty miles north of Downtown Atlanta. From SRA Signature Realty's office in Tucker, the drive typically covers about twenty-one miles, generally by way of Interstate 285 to Georgia Highway 400 and then west along Holcomb Bridge Road, or along Georgia Highway 140 for a more direct surface-street route, a trip that usually runs thirty to forty minutes depending on traffic.

A Mill Town Founded in the 1830s

Roswell's history traces to around 1830, when Roswell King, a businessman from coastal Georgia, was traveling through north Georgia during the state's early gold rush years and came upon the confluence of the Chattahoochee River and Vickery Creek. Recognizing the site's water-power potential, King returned in the mid-1830s with his sons Barrington and Ralph to build a textile mill, with construction beginning in 1836 and the Roswell Manufacturing Company incorporated by the Georgia General Assembly in 1839. Five coastal Georgia families joined King in the venture, and together they laid out a New England-style town around the mill, complete with a central square, a church, and a cluster of homes for the mill's founders. The town itself was officially incorporated in 1854, two decades after the mill's founding.

Civil War History and the Mills

By 1860, the Roswell Manufacturing Company had grown into the largest cotton mill in north Georgia, producing cloth, yarn, and rope, including the gray fabric used for Confederate uniforms. In July 1864, Union forces under General Kenner Garrard seized and burned the mills, and several hundred mill workers, most of them women, were arrested on charges of treason and sent north by train, many enduring severe hardship before the war's end. The mills were rebuilt after the war and continued operating into the twentieth century, expanding with a second mill built in 1882, before finally closing in 1975. The ruins are preserved today within the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area's Vickery Creek Unit, alongside a rebuilt covered bridge and a memorial sculpture, installed in 2000, honoring the workers who were deported.

A Nationally Recognized Historic District

Roswell's historic core, a roughly 120-acre district listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, holds one of the region's best-preserved collections of Greek Revival and Late Georgian architecture. Bulloch Hall, built in 1839, is the best known of these homes, remembered as the site of the 1853 wedding of Martha "Mittie" Bulloch to Theodore Roosevelt Sr., the parents of President Theodore Roosevelt, and it now operates as a house museum open for tours. Nearby, Barrington Hall and Primrose Cottage date to the same founding era, while Mimosa Hall, built in 1847, and Great Oaks, built in 1842 and now used as a wedding venue, round out the district's collection of antebellum homes.

• Bulloch Hall, the 1839 home connected to President Theodore Roosevelt's family


• The Vickery Creek Unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area


• Canton Street's antique shops, galleries, and restaurants


• The annual Alive in Roswell festival on Historic Canton Street


• Trails along the Chattahoochee River and Vickery Creek

Canton Street and Life Along the River

Historic Canton Street forms the commercial spine of Roswell's downtown, lined with antique shops, art galleries, boutiques, and restaurants inside storefronts dating back generations. Each year, the Alive in Roswell festival closes the street to traffic for an evening of live music, food, and vendors. Just south of downtown, the Vickery Creek Unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area offers wooded trails along the creek and river, connecting the historic mill ruins to the water that first drew Roswell King to the site nearly two centuries ago.

Getting Around Roswell

Georgia Highway 9, known locally as Alpharetta Highway and Atlanta Street, runs through the heart of Roswell, while Holcomb Bridge Road and Georgia Highway 140 provide the main east-west routes connecting the city to Interstate 285 and Georgia 400. The Chattahoochee River forms Roswell's southern boundary, with several bridges linking the city to Cobb County communities on the river's opposite bank.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Roswell located?

Roswell sits in Fulton County on the north bank of the Chattahoochee River, roughly twenty miles north of Downtown Atlanta.

How far is Roswell from SRA Signature Realty's Tucker office?

The drive covers roughly twenty-one miles, generally thirty to forty minutes via Interstate 285, Georgia Highway 400, and Holcomb Bridge Road.

When was Roswell founded?

Roswell King began building a textile mill at the site in 1836, the Roswell Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1839, and the town itself was officially incorporated in 1854.

What is Bulloch Hall?

Bulloch Hall is an 1839 Greek Revival home in Roswell's historic district, known as the site of the 1853 wedding of Martha "Mittie" Bulloch to Theodore Roosevelt Sr., and it now operates as a house museum.

What is Canton Street known for?

Canton Street is Roswell's historic downtown corridor, home to antique shops, galleries, restaurants, and the annual Alive in Roswell street festival.

Are there trails along the Chattahoochee River in Roswell?

Yes. The Vickery Creek Unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area offers wooded trails near the historic mill ruins, just south of downtown Roswell.