Whitfield County is a part of Dalton, Georgia. Many people do not know about this county, but it is crucial to the state of Georgia and contains rich history that belongs our state. Whitfield County known as the Carpet Capital of the World is also home to an increasing number of high-tech chemical plastics and automotive companies.
Rob Bradham is the Chamber of Commerce President. He oversees businesses whose goal is to further the interests of other businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community.
A top point of interest in Whitfield County is the Chattahoochee National Forest. Many tourists tend to visit Red Clay State Park and Dalton’s Freight Depot as well, which are famous county landmarks. Another historic site is Prater’s Mill, which is especially enjoyable to children. There is usually a fair where families enjoy a walk down the nature trail, pony rides for children and educational exhibits. In 1855, Benjamin Franklin Prater built Prater’s Mill to help support the thriving community that was created due to the addition of the railroad. The Mill offered the latest cleaning, grinding and sifting machinery of the time also a syrup mill, saw mill, general store, blacksmith shop and cotton gin. The Mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and today hosts the annual Prater’s Mill Country Fair in October.
Whitfield County is currently home to 7,105 companies and is continuing to grow. Shaw and Mohawk Industries are currently the key industries in this county and have the largest amount of employees as well. Companies such as IVC US Inc., a leading manufacturer of vinyl flooring, and SwissTex America, the maker of the machinery for the carpet and textile industries, have recognized Dalton as both a great home for manufacturing and as a head of operations. Whitfield County has become the headquarters for the world’s carpet industry because of the community’s willingness to provide whatever the industry needed to prosper and grow. It is therefore an excellent area for supporting services, distribution, shipping, retail and diversification. This industry has been around since the end of the twentieth century, 80 percent of the carpet produced in the United States, and more than 70 percent of the world’s carpet, were produced by four companies located in Georgia, including Shaw and Mohawk industries. In the future, the county is looking forward to diving deeper into economic projects that will further their carpeting and manufacturing industry.
Another quick history fact is that in the 1830s, Cross Plains Settlement was the primary settlement that would later become Whitfield County. In 1847, the settlement was added into the town of Dalton. The name was given by Edward White, a merchant from New York, he gave the name from his mother’s family. He was given this opportunity as he was the one who first laid out the original streets in Dalton. A fun fact about this county is that about 68.6% of the population is at least a high school graduate or higher.
