Biohazard Cleanup Near West Bartow Bartow, GA

Bartow is a town in Jefferson County in east-central Georgia, not to be confused with Bartow County in the state's northwest.

The town was initially known as Spier's Turnout, named for the railroad siding, or turnout, built on land sold by James Speir.

Bartow was renamed in 1861 to honor Colonel Francis S. Bartow of Savannah, the first Confederate officer to die in battle, who was killed at the First Battle of Manassas on July 21, 1861.

The settlement grew around the Central of Georgia Railroad, whose tracks were laid in 1841, and a depot for Station Number 11 was completed in 1859.

The land around Bartow was originally settled by General Solomon Wood, a Revolutionary War hero and statesman who built a fort nearby to protect his family and neighbors.

On November 28, 1864, Union forces under General William T. Sherman's Left Wing destroyed the railroad through Bartow during the March to the Sea.

Virtually every structure within the town limits is included in Bartow's historic district, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Bartow is the birthplace of Ray Evans, who pioneered the Jeep and the Bantam automobile.

The town's population peaked at 582 in the 1920 census and had fallen to 186 by the 2020 census, while the 2010 census recorded 286 residents.