Rome, the county seat of Floyd County, was incorporated as a city December 29, 1847.

The origin of the city’s name is quite interesting. It has been said that five travelers met at a spring in Rome, agreeing that it would be a fine place to start a city. They would establish the city by each placing a suggestion for a city name in a hat. Colonel Daniel R. Mitchell, who stated that the landscape of the city reminded him of Rome, Italy, drew the name.