Dalton, GA

Dalton is a northwest Georgia city near the Blue Ridge Mountains, best known as a center of the American floor-covering industry. Many of the nation's carpet, rug, and flooring manufacturers have been based in and around Dalton, giving the city an industrial identity that is unusually specific. Its history also includes Cherokee removal and the arrival of the Western and Atlantic Railroad. The Creative Arts Guild, described as Georgia's oldest multidisciplinary community arts center, adds a cultural layer to a city often associated first with manufacturing.