The Enchanted Land Eighth Hill

Nestled in the Southwestern end of the Appalachian Mountain Chain where the Oostanala and Etowah rivers are joined to form the Coosa River is the city of seven hills. According to history and legend Colonel Daniel Mitchell, Colonel William Smith, Major Philip Hemphill, Colonel Zachariah B. Hardgrove, and John Lumpkins founded the city in the spring of 1834. The founders purchased all the available land on the surrounding hills along with the ferry rights.

Since the founders were not able to decide on a name for their town, they cast lots. The names Hamburg, Hillsboro, Rome, Warsaw and Pittsburg were placed in a hat, with the name Rome being drawn. This is how the City of Seven Hills and an un-named eighth hill in Hillsboro began. Many American of African descent resided and still reside in the Hillsboro vicinity of Rome, Georgia.

The official names and location of the seven hills in Rome, Floyd County, Georgia are Blossom Hill which adjoins Jackson Hill in a North Rome suburb that overlooks the city’s public works complex on Vaughn Road. According to an article at the Rome Floyd County Library, Mrs. Mary Sheppard, a former slave and her daughter, Maggie, founded Blossom Hill. According to Mrs. Etta Berry, Mary Sheppard told her that she and Maggie would walk on the hill and pick the blossoms. Mary told her daughter that they would call the hill “Blossom Hill.”  The name stuck and has been used ever since.

Jackson Hill is located on Reservoir Street, according to The Magnificent Seven by C. C. Wilson. The Jackson family owned most of the property surrounding the area, hence the name “Jackson Hill”.

Lumpkins Hill is located on Eighth Avenue and West First Street. Highway construction leveled Lumpkins’ peak in 1956 but the cemetery remains intact. One of Rome’s founders, John H. Lumpkins, who was born in 1813 and died in 1860, is buried there

Old Shorter Hill is located on Third Avenue. Shorter College once was located there. It later became Boys High School and now houses the main offices of the Rome City Schools.

Clock Tower Hill is located on the Southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and East Second Street. According to “ The Magnificent Seven,” by C. C. Wilson, III, Rome’s Clock Tower Hill is the most recognized landmark. It was Rome’s first water works system. When the water works was moved to Jackson Hill, the inside of the tower was turned into a museum.  The clock remains in working condition and strikes the hour in downtown Rome. 

Mount Aventine Hill located on Lookout Circle was named for one of the original hills in Rome, Italy. In C. C. Wilson, III’s “ The Magnificent Seven,’ Mount Avetine’s hidden treasure is a Jewish cemetery dating back to the early 1800’s. According to Ann Culpepper, it is located at the hill’s highest point.

Myrtle Hill is located in South Rome across the Etowah River at the foot of Broad Street across the Charles Graves Bridge. According to C. C. Wilson, III, it is named for 600 Crepe Myrtles planted at the cemetery inception. It became the city’s “new” cemetery in 1857, replacing Oak Hill, which had served Rome since 1837. Myrtle Hill is listed on the National Register of Historic places.

Rome became a thriving city. Steamboats carrying mail and cargo sailed up and down the Oostanula, Coosa and Etowah rivers. The Rome Railroad was chartered, and schools, banks and churches were built. Nevertheless, the civil war soon put an end to Rome’s prosperity.  General Sherman and his troops came into Rome in May 1864 and when they left in November, most of Rome was burned. Although the buildings were burned, the citizen’s self-confidence was not and they commenced to build a bigger, better Rome.  

When the civil war ended and the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, Americans of African descent in the City of Seven Hills were optimistic about their freedom. They linked their freedom to a sense of patriotism and becoming a part of the great American dream. They had a new sense of personal responsibility. They wanted to own land, work their own gardens and cotton fields and support their own children. However, they soon learned that they were people of diminished status who had been stripped of their name, their heritage and their humanity. Nevertheless, these uneducated men and women weathered the storms of life and made meaningful contributions to society.

The unofficially named Eighth Hill where ex-slaves and their families resided in South Rome will be called the Enchanted Land Eighth Hill in this writing. The Enchanted Land Eighth Hill is an account of the educated and the uneducated men and women whose ancestors were brought from Africa to America against their will. It is based on my recollection and childhood experiences and from the voices of history and heritage.

Most of the families that lived on the eighth hill were large in number and poor, but they were people of integrity. Nevertheless, they were ostracized by not only whites but by blacks that lived in the other sections of Rome. The Enchanted Land Eighth Hill blends present and past events of African slaves with modern day Americans of African descent.