Carrollton was incorporated on December 22, 1829, and named for Charles Carroll, the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence. In 1830 the town was surveyed and its lots were laid out around a central square later named Adamson Square for local judge and congressman William C. Adamson, and the first city commissioners sold business plots there at public auction on the first Tuesday in February 1830, giving rise to the town’s trading day. Johnson’s Drug Company, an apothecary shop that opened in 1854, used roots and medical plants obtained through trade with local Creek Indians as the basis for its medicines and remained open until 1972. Although Carrollton was the county seat and main market town for much of Carroll County, difficult transportation kept it largely a frontier town until well after the American Civil War. During the war there were four raids on Carrollton, and in 1865 Union troops set the northwest quadrant ablaze and held local citizens at bay. The railroad’s arrival in 1874 brought new prosperity, allowing farmers to ship crops, mostly cotton, to distant markets and encouraging industrial growth, especially in textiles. The first masonry structure was built in 1873 on the corner of Rome Street by Patterson G. Garrison, and wagon yards, mule barns, and cotton warehouses stood behind the buildings on the Square. By the start of the 20th century, Carrollton had running water, electric lighting, telephone service, and street paving begun in 1918, and by then three silent movie theaters were located on the Square. In 1906 Carrollton was chosen as the site of the Fourth District Agricultural and Mechanical School, which became West Georgia College in 1934 and is now the University of West Georgia. Carrollton remained an agricultural and textile manufacturing center through the first half of the 20th century, then diversified as cotton production declined and the population became more urban, a process that continued into the 21st century with help from access to Interstate 20 and the Norfolk Southern Railroad. Over the years the Square has hosted large gatherings, festivals, and events, including the passing of the Torch for the 1996 Centennial Olympics in Atlanta, and today downtown Carrollton includes retail shops, coffee shops, restaurants, live entertainment, and art galleries.