The first residents of the area that we know as Conyers / Rockdale County were Native Americans . In fact , the border between the Creek and Cherokee Nations is believed to be Hightower Trail , which extends into north Rockdale . In the early 1800s , the Hightower Trail served as a main trade route for white settlers .
History
HISTORY
The first residents of the area that we know as Conyers / Rockdale County were Native Americans . In fact , the border between the Creek and Cherokee Nations is believed to be Hightower Trail , which extends into north Rockdale . In the early 1800s , the Hightower Trail served as a main trade route for white settlers .
� Establishing the first settlements During the early to mid -1800s, this territory experienced many changes . The State opened the area to settlers and settlements quickly grew around mills located along the community ’ s northern borders . While the earliest settlement occupied the extreme northern edge of Rockdale , the southern end of the County was being inhabited as well by settlers moving up along the rivers and streams from what is now neighboring Henry County .
These early settlers founded many churches . Salem Baptist Church , which started near Costley ’ s Mill on Big Haynes Creek , still performs baptisms in the sparkling waters of the millpond . Smyrna Presbyterian Church , constructed in 1827 , is the oldest Calvinist Campground in the United States and continues to conduct camp meetings each year at the original site .
� Learning how Conyers began John Holcomb , a blacksmith , is said to be the first known settler in Conyers / Rockdale County . He built a log cabin on Main Street where the Rockdale County Courthouse now stands .
Progress in the form of the railroad was heading to the area despite protests from Holcomb . Eventually , he sold his land for $ 700 to prominent Covington banker and physician Dr . W . D . Conyers , who deeded the right-of-way to the railroad . By 1845 , trains were running regularly between Marthasville ( now Atlanta ) and the city of Augusta through Conyers Station , as the town had come to be called . In 1854 , Conyers Station had grown to 400 residents and was incorporated by an act of the Georgia Legislature as a city called Conyers . On November 17 , 1864 , during General Sherman ’ s famous March to the Sea , his troops passed through this region .
Destroying everything in their path , the Union soldiers hadn ’ t counted on the astuteness of Winnie Puckett , the operator of Costley ’ s Mill . Before the soldiers arrived , Puckett , known by many at the time as “ Aunt Winnie ”, sacked all of the flour available and hid the sacks in the millpond . The wet flour caked and protected the remaining flour inside the sacks . Heeding her pleas , the Union soldiers , who had intended to burn the mill , left Aunt Winnie and the mill unharmed .
� Creating Rockdale County Created by an Act of the Legislature in
1870 , Rockdale became a county named for the underlying granite strata that runs beneath the surface . Rockdale County was the 133rd county in the state of Georgia . Covering 128 square miles , Rockdale is Georgia ’ s second smallest county in terms of size . Though its boundaries have changed over the years , it is currently bounded on the north by Gwinnett and Walton counties , on the south by Newton County and on the west by Henry and DeKalb counties . In 1897 , the County ’ s first jail was built . It now serves as a museum operated by the Rockdale County Historical Society .
A community where churches flourished , Rockdale County opened its arms in 1944 to a group of 21 Trappist monks from Kentucky who wanted to begin their monastic life in Georgia . The Monastery of the Holy Spirit is today one of our most treasured resources in the community . While the monks ’ living quarters remain private , the Abbey
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