With this being the first museum of Western Art in the Southeast, many have asked, �Why Cartersville � and where is it anyway?� The answer is simple � the museum will be ideally located in an already interesting small town just two miles off one of the nation�s most highly traveled highways, Interstate 75. Cartersville is rich in Civil War and Native American historic sites and offers a surprising selection of shopping and dining choices in the downtown district where the museum is located. The museum brings a new Americana cultural excursion to the South�s boomtown, Atlanta, and is expected to draw patrons from the migratory Michigan-to-Miami �Snowbird� travel set.

Besides the uniqueness of Western Art in Georgia, the Booth Museum gives the South a grand introduction to the genre. The collection�s 200-plus pieces include original works by early artists of Taos and Santa Fe, as well as contemporary creations from the Cowboy Artists of America Award Winners Roy Anderson, and Oreland C. Joe. Other prominent western artists include Howard Terpning, Joe Beeler, Harry Jackson, and popular female artists Carrie Ballantyne and Nancy Glazier.

The Civil War Gallery boasts works from artists such as Don Troiani, Mort Künstler and Don Stivers. Forty-five original letters and other personal communications from all U.S. Presidents will be displayed in the Presidential Gallery. In the Children�s Gallery, kids will have an opportunity to sit in a life-like bouncing stagecoach, cook a pretend cowboy meal in the chuck wagon, and learn to draw horses and buffalo in their own art studio.

Recognizing the value the museum brings to the state�s inventory of visitor attractions, Georgia�s Department of Tourism awarded a grant to the Cartersville-Bartow County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) to market a travel package centering around the Booth Museum and the Native American historic sites in the region. Called Cowboys and Indians in Georgia, CVB Director Ellen Archer says the Indian-themed art to be seen in the Booth Museum Collection is a new catalyst for showcasing the little known story of the Southeastern Indian Cultures who dwelt here.

Just three miles from the Booth Museum is the Etowah Indian Mounds State Historic Site, the most intact Mississippian Cultural Site in the east. Only one of the mounds has been excavated while the remaining mounds have been preserved just as they were nearly 1000 years ago. The Etowah Indian Mounds is one of six Native American historic sites and museums that comprise a self-guided tour through northwest Georgia called the Chieftain�s Trail.

About 30 miles north in Calhoun is New Echota State Historic Site, the capital of the Cherokee Nation prior to 1838 when President Andrew Jackson executed the forced march to Oklahoma remembered as the infamous Trail of Tears. It is one of two Georgia sites designated as official Trail of Tears sites by the U.S. Department of Interior. The Chieftains Museum in Rome, the home of the Cherokee Chief who signed the treaty that led to the Trail of Tears, is the other Georgia Trail of Tears Site. The Chieftains Museum/Major Ridge Home is located approximately 30 miles west of Cartersville. Other sites on the Chieftains Trail include the Chief Vann House State Historic Site, known as the �Showcase of the Cherokee Nation,� and the Funk Heritage Center, an interpretative museum on the campus of Reinhardt College, a small private school 20 miles east of Cartersville. The Funk Heritage Center displays 12,000 years of Native American history featured through artifacts, dioramas and interactive workstations in the Hall of the Ancients. The Rogers Gallery of Contemporary Indian Art adds to the experience.

Y�all stop by for a western weekend in Georgia�s great northwest. Most people equate springtime in Georgia to azaleas and the Masters Golf tournament in Augusta. Now courtesy of the Booth Western Art Museum, it�s dogwoods and Cowboys and Indians in Cartersville. �We truly have Cowboys and Indians in Georgia� adds Archer, �and we�re excited to be able to spark new tourism in Northwest Georgia by combining the opening of the Booth Western Art Museum along with the rich Native Peoples heritage that surrounds us.�

Directions: I-75 Exit 288, go south on GA 113 (Main Street) through four traffic lights, cross the railroad tracks then turn right into parking area at Friendship Plaza. Be sure to stop in at the Visitor Information Center located in the restored railroad Depot. The Booth Western Art Museum is located one block away behind the Church Street Bridge in the downtown historic district. Numerous shops and restaurants are located within easy walking distance of the Museum.

Related Web Sites

www.boothmuseum.org	www.cowboysandindiansingeorgia.com
www.notatlanta.org	www.georgiaonmymind.org
www.chieftainstrail.com

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Contact:
Cartersville-Bartow County Convention & Visitors Bureau
Regina Wheeler, TMP
Media Relations
Cowboys & Indians in Georgia � Cartersville that is
800-733-2280 or
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Ellen Archer
Executive Director
800-733-2280
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Note: For reproducible images of the Booth Western Art Museum collection contact Cheryl Kennedy- Membership and Marketing Director, Booth Western Art Museum 770-607-6361 cherylk@boothmuseum.org.