Dalton

Town and administrative headquarters of Whitfield County, northwest Georgia; population (2000) 27,900. It is situated in the Cohutta Mountains, 42 km/26 mi southeast of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Since the early 20th century, Dalton has been a centre for the tufted-textile (candlewick) industry, producing a high proportion of the bedspreads and, later, carpets made in the USA; it has several large carpet plants. It is home to Dalton College (1963).

In the 19th century it was a shipping point for copper mined in the area. In 1863–64 it was a Confederate headquarters, and fell to General William Tecumseh Sherman's advance on Atlanta.

Dalton

Town in Berkshire County, west Massachusetts; population (1998 est) 6,900. It is situated 8 km/5 mi east-northeast of Pittsfield, and is a resort town with some light manufacturing.

The town lent its name to the Dalton Plan (1919), a progressive education scheme. The national register of historic places lists places in the region, including paper factories; paper is still made in Dalton, and the Crane Paper Mills (1801) make speciality papers, including currency paper. The Appalachian Trail runs through the town.