Polk County is made up of three communities- Cedartown, Rockmart, and Aragon. Rockmart and Aragon align with Polk’s top businesses, with Rockmart housing slate and rock quarries, and Aragon, “named for the mineral aragonite” that is often found in the area. Aragon was also the home to “Aragon Mill, one of the largest textile mills in the state,” for one-hundred-four years. Although the mill burned down in 2002, a large portion of the population still consists of descendants of “the original mill workers.” Seaborn Jones Memorial Park is intersected by both the Silver Comet Trail and Euharlee Creek. The Silver Comet Trail, which runs through Historic Downtown Rockmart, draws many walkers, runners, and cyclists to Polk County and encourages new residents.
Polk County is also known for composites, fabrication, and poultry. It is the home to companies like Meggitt Polymers & Composites, Tip Top Poultry, Angelica Textile Services, and Gildan Yarns. Polk does international business in Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom through, respectively, Gildan Yarns, Kimoto Tech, and Meggitt Polymers & Composites.
There are 250 businesses in Polk County that employ a total of 17,379 people. The largest business in Polk, in terms of employment, is Meggitt Polymers & Composites. The Polk County School District is a close second, serving over nine-thousand school-aged children.
According to the most recent report from the Building Inspection Office, a total of twenty-one building permits were issued in February of 2016. Out of the 138 issued permits for the year, sixty-four were issued for addition or repair, indicating that Polk is equally concerned with renovation as they are with development. Additionally, as of October of 2017, two applications had been submitted for a special land use and a zoning change. It looks as if a consignment and variety shop will be in the works during the next year, along with the transition of a commercial neighborhood to a residential one.
Chamber Executive Director, Tamaka Hudson, leads the Polk County Chamber of Commerce in enhancing “the quality of life by supporting and promoting business, industry, education and government,” and continuing development of both commercial and residential areas, along with the business in composites, textiles, and poultry.
