Dalton, Georgia

Dalton is a city in Whitfield County, Georgia, United States. It is the county seat of Whitfield CountyTemplate:GR and the principal city of the Dalton, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of both Murray and Whitfield counties. The population was 27,912 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Location of Dalton, Georgia

Dalton is located at 34°46′16″N 84°58′18″W (34.771088, -84.971553)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 51.4 km² (19.8 mi²). 51.3 km² (19.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.10%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 27,912 people, 9,689 households, and 6,511 families residing in the city. The population density was 543.7/km² (1,407.9/mi²). There were 10,229 housing units at an average density of 199.3/km² (516.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 66.17% White, 7.71% African American, 0.44% Native American, 1.71% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 21.15% from other races, and 2.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 40.19% of the population. Tens of thousands of illegal aliens from Mexico and Central America have settled in the Dalton area, particularly over the past 15 years, taking jobs in the carpet industry.

There were 9,689 households out of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.43.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.3% under the age of 18, 12.0% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 104.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,312, and the median income for a family was $41,111. Males had a median income of $28,158 versus $23,701 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,575. About 11.9% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.0% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

Dalton and the Carpet Industry

Dalton is often referred to as the "Carpet Capital of the World," home to 150+ carpet plants and approximately 100 carpet outlet stores. The industry employs more than 30,000 people in the Whitfield County area.

The agglomeration of the carpet industry in Dalton can be traced back to a wedding gift given in 1895 by a teenage girl, Catherine Evans Whitener, to her brother, Henry Alexander Evans, and his bride, Elizabeth Cramer. The gift was an unusual tufted bedspread. Copying a quilt pattern, she sewed thick cotton yarns with a running stitch into unbleached muslin, clipped the ends of the yarn so they would fluff out, and finally, washed the spread in hot water to hold the yarns by shrinking the fabric. Interest grew in young Catherine's bedspreads, and in 1900, she made the first sale of a spread for $2.50. Demand became so great for the spreads that by the 1930's, local women, who were real entrepreneurs, had "haulers," who would take the stamped sheeting and yarns to front porch workers. Often entire families worked to hand tuft the spreads for 10 to 25 cents per spread. Nearly 10,000 area cottage "tufters"--men, women, and children, were involved in the industry. Bedspread income was instrumental in helping many area families survive the depression. Chenille bedspreads became amazingly popular all over the country and provided a new name for Dalton: the Bedspread Capital of the World.

When a form of mechanised carpet making was developed after World War II, Dalton became the center of the new industry due to the fact that specialised tufting skills were required and there was a ready pool of workers with those skills there.

Rail Transport in Dalton

A Norfolk Southern SD70MAC goes through "Hair" in Dalton, Georgia. Jason Trew Photo

Dalton is a railfan's hotspot. 50 to 55 trains run through Dalton on a typical day. Norfolk Southern's Georgia Division (Atlanta to Chattanooga) and the CSX Western & Atlantic Subdivision (Atlanta to Chattanooga) run right through Dalton, and sometimes one can find a few Norfolk Southern locomotives that run long hood forward. The original train depot is now a restaurant and a landmark in the community.

Famous People from Dalton

• Deborah Norville (host on Inside Edition)
• Marla Maples (former wife of Donald Trump)
• Lynda Vaughn (Stroker Ace's Miss Hurst Shifter)
• Lane Davies (actor)
• Mike Erwin (actor)
• Edith King (actress)
• Tammy Jo Kirk, NASCAR driver

External links

• Roadside Georgia: Dalton History of Dalton, Georgia
• Dalton Convention and Visitors Bureau Information on the history of Dalton and the carpet industry, attractions, events, restaurants and places to stay
• Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center
• City of Dalton
• Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce
• Dalton: Carpet Capital of the World
• Prater's Mill Country Fair
• Dalton Gamers' Network An organization that gathers electronic gamers together for fellowship, fun, and competition in the Northwest Georgia area.