Lawyer/Politician/Soldier/Businessman/Town Founder. Born in Hancock County, Georgia in 1800, Mark Anthony Cooper's first success was as a lawyer, which he became at the age of 21. In 1833, he became a Georgia State legislator from Putnam County. During that time in office, he sponsored the first railroads built in Georgia. Following that term, he was elected to the 26th Congress (1839-1841). After losing reelection, he was asked to fill the unexpired term of another congressman. He was elected to the 28th Congress, but resigned in 1843 to run for governor of Georgia, a race he lost. In between his political endeavors, Mark Anthony Cooper was a Major commanding five companies of the First Georgia Battalion of Volunteers in the Seminole Indian Wars in 1836. He received honors and recognition for actions during that time. Following his exit from politics, Cooper moved to Bartow County, Georgia. It was after this move that he gained his reputation as "The Iron Man of Georgia." He established the Etowah Iron Works (aka Etowah Iron and Manufacturing Company). He was one of the founding fathers of the town of Etowah that sprang up around the iron works company. It gave jobs to many of the pioneers moving to the newly released Cherokee Indian land. At one time, this bustling industrial center held almost 4000 citizens. During the Civil War, the Etowah Iron Works was a major supplier of munitions to the Confederate troops. The CSA bought the iron works company from Cooper. During General Sherman's "March to The Sea," he burned the town of Etowah, completely destroying it. Today, the only evidence that the town ever existed is the large iron furnace that still sits on the banks of the Etowah River, yards away from the Allatoona Dam. Cooper briefly served as a Georgia State senator from Bartow County in 1876. He died at his home of Glen Holly in 1885, where he was buried in a family cemetery on the estate. As the plans for a new dam and man-made lake began to take shape decades later, the members of the Cooper family buried at Glen Holly were removed and placed at the historic Oak Hill Cemetery in Cartersville, Georgia. (The Army Corp of Engineers placed a monument at the new gravesite). The land that was once the city of Etowah, and the site of the Glen Holly estate, now lie under Lake Allatoona. Mark Anthony Cooper's memory still lives on today. Two states have named state parks in his honor. Florida established Fort Cooper State Park in Inverness, Florida. In Georgia, the area around the huge original cold blast iron furnace has been made into a state park known as Cooper's Furnace. A monument Cooper created in 1860 to honor the people who helped support him during a bad financial period, The Friendship Monument, now stands in Friendship Plaza in downtown Cartersville. This tribute created by Cooper to commend the people in 1860 is now used as a tribute to many of the notable citizens of Bartow County. In 2000, 200 years after his birth, a biography "Mark Anthony Cooper: The Iron Man of Georgia" was published.