Downtown Cartersville Is Turning a Parking Lot Back Into a Park

"A nice park enclosed with an iron chain fence, gravel walks laid out through a grass plot in which trees and seating lend comfort and beauty, and in the center of the lot a pool and fountain given by the city council."

That's how the Courant-American described the corner of Public Square and Cherokee Avenue in 1898. Bartow History Museum archivist Stephanie McBride shared the description with the Daily Tribune News this year. The women of the Cherokee Club built that park. The W&A Railroad gave them $50 in 1897, and Mrs. W.P. Laramore donated the chert for the walkways.

Over the next century, most of that park turned into parking spaces. Lillie Read, executive director of the Cartersville Downtown Development Authority, told the paper that before this redesign, the space "had generally been referred to as the Founders Oak Parking Lot." The fencing and torn-up ground on that corner this fall are the work of turning it back into a park.

A Corner With a Long Paper Trail

The construction makes more sense once you see the whole timeline in one place.

The oak was the hardest part. City Manager Dan Porta said an inspection gave the tree another five to 10 years. He also said branches had been falling for years, and that the stormwater and parking work around it would probably shorten that. He pointed to the Public Safety Headquarters project around 2012. The city spent more than $10,000 trying to protect trees next to that building and Oak Hill Cemetery, and those trees still died within three years.

What Goes Back on the Corner

The plan the city published on Sept. 4 turns the space back into a park. Playworx Playsets will build an oak-themed playground around a large tower shaped like a tree, with a separate play area for younger children. The main tower uses mat-style climbing ramps in place of interior steps. The playground will also have an inclusive swing, a spinner, and interactive panels, plus poured rubber surfacing, shade, seating and a fence around the play area.

The Founders Oak won't disappear entirely. The plans include a new fountain area, benches made from wood saved from the original tree, and a new oak planted on the block. Porta also mentioned using the wood for a plaque display inside the new City Hall and a new mayor's gavel, depending on how much of it can be saved.

The playground wasn't in the original plan. Porta said the project began as a new City Hall plus stormwater detention. Then Councilmember Alyssa Cordell suggested a downtown splash pad at a visioning session, and after more input that idea became a playground. Read said the survey for the downtown master plan found that people wanted more recreation and leisure space downtown.

Here's what it costs. City Hall construction, storm drainage and parking upgrades total $21.3 million, and about $750,000 of that goes to the playground area. The money comes from the General Fund, the 2026 SPLOST and Tourism Product Development funds. The order of the work matters if you're wondering when you'll see swings. The park can't be built until the new City Hall is finished and city departments have moved in. After that, the current City Hall at 10 N. Public Square comes down and becomes parking. So the parking moves to the old City Hall site, and the corner where the oak stood goes back to being a park.

Where Saturday Morning Went

The farmers market was the most visible change for anyone who spends time downtown. It had been held in the Founders Oak Park area. The Daily Tribune reported that the construction moved it to the Tabernacle Baptist Church parking lot this year. The exact spot was the south end of that lot at 31 Douglas St., Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon.

The 2026 season ran from May 2 to Sept. 26, so it ended last weekend and no October dates are posted. This year's vendors included 411 Farms, APJ Farm, Mayberry Mushrooms and Berry Farms. Market coordinator Regina Shaw runs it with backing from the city, Bartow County, the DDA, the CVB and UGA-Bartow County Extension.

The rebuild includes something for the market's eventual return. Porta said extra electrical outlets will go into the parking lot to improve the farmers market and future concerts. The Cartersville Farmers Market site is the place to check for where it sets up next season.

The Same Idea, Out at the Edges

The Founders Oak project isn't the only one of its kind. On Sept. 30, the city announced two dog parks, and both are on land that was already public: a river launch and the grounds of a former school.

• Highway 113 Dog Park, 1540 West Avenue. It's at the city's canoe and kayak launch on the Etowah River, which Keep Bartow Beautiful says opened in October 2013 as one of four city and county launch sites covering 17 miles of river. The launch has no restrooms. The city scheduled its ribbon cutting for Sept. 30.
• Etowah Drive Dog Park, 17 Pine Grove Road. It's at the former Cartersville Primary School, which was replaced by a new school in August 2023. The ribbon cutting is Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 4:30 p.m., and Bark in the Park follows from 5 to 7 p.m.

The city says both parks came out of partnerships with Bartow County Government and the Cartersville City School System. It hasn't published size, hours, rules or amenities for either one, so the Oct. 7 event is the easiest way to see the Etowah Drive park for yourself. The county's dog park at Hamilton Crossing Park, 137 Hamilton Crossing Road NW, is still listed, alongside that park's two-mile paved, lighted walking trail.

The West Avenue site connects to one of Cartersville's quieter trails. The Leake Mounds Interpretive Trail runs nearby, and Parks and Recreation lists it at 1700 West Avenue. GDOT describes it as an 18-panel, 1.5-mile walking trail about a site occupied from about 300 B.C. to A.D. 650, with three earthen mounds and a large circular ditch. The city's tourism page lists the trail at 1.7 miles and says it connects to the Etowah RiverWalk, which may account for the difference in length. We found no official word on whether dogs are allowed on the trail, so leashed walks there are a question to ask the city before you go.

The Fall Calendar Doesn't Need the Corner

None of downtown's fall events depend on the fenced block. The Downtown Cartersville events page lists a full season, and the museums around town add more.

1. Oct. 7: Bark in the Park at the Etowah Drive dog park, 5 to 7 p.m.
2. Oct. 8: Free Family Thursday at the Booth Western Art Museum, 501 N. Museum Drive, 4 to 8 p.m.
3. Oct. 10: Skills of the Past Day at Etowah Indian Mounds, 813 Indian Mound Road SE, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
4. Oct. 11: Vonzara Food Fest downtown
5. Oct. 17: BBQ, Brews, & Boos
6. Oct. 23 to 24: Halloween Pub Crawl
7. Oct. 25: Intercultural Fest, Día de los Muertos
8. Oct. 30: Trunk or Treat at the Savoy Automobile Museum, 3 Savoy Lane, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
9. Nov. 5: Downtown Holiday Open House
10. Nov. 6 to 7: Cartersville Christmas Village at the Clarence Brown Conference Center, 5450 GA-20, with more than 70 vendors
11. Dec. 3: Pictures with Santa, the tree lighting and the Exchange Club Christmas Parade, 6 to 9 p.m., with the parade listing at 112 E. Church Street
12. Dec. 12: Jingle & Mingle

The December 3 tree lighting will take place while the construction is still going, months before the April 2027 target for the new City Hall. If you want a say in what comes next, the city is working on a downtown streetscape plan with Inspire Placemaking Collective. The project page showed an open survey when we checked, and no results have been published yet.

Changes to public space like Founders Oak Park, the new dog parks and the streetscape plan affect what a home near downtown is worth, often before the change appears in any sales numbers. If you own near Public Square, the West Avenue launch or Etowah Drive and want to know how they factor into your home's value, The Calvert Group can walk you through it. Start with a free home valuation.