Cave Spring, GA

Cave Spring is a Floyd County city 17 miles southwest of Rome, on U.S. 411 and about five miles from the Alabama line. The 2020 census counted 1,174 residents. The road keeps the city connected to Rome and west toward Gadsden, while the limestone cave and spring at the center of town still supply drinking water for nearby communities. The spring is a working piece of local infrastructure as well as the feature that gave the city its name. Floyd County schools serve the area, and Cave Spring Elementary closed in 2022.

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The spring site has long been used by Indigenous people for water and gatherings, and the route through the area later became part of the forced Cherokee removal known as the Trail of Tears. The Georgia School for the Deaf opened here in 1846; Fannin Hall now serves as city offices and a community center. Rolater Park, created when 29 acres were deeded to residents in 1931, remains a public focal point alongside the spring, cave, city services, and older buildings.