This gristmill was built on Ten Mile Creek in 1859 by Dr. J. W. Herring (1823-1911), who named it Rose Hill Mill. Dr. Herring was a physician by trade, but was also a well-known amateur engineer, having built several covered bridges in Upson County and vicinity, including the Auchumpkee Creek Covered Bridge. Notably, Rose Hill Mill was turbine operated, as opposed to the more common water-wheel system.
The mill was purchased in 1887 by Dr. George Whitfield Telford Hannah (1841-1906), a Confederate veteran and leading Thomaston physician. Since then it has been known as Hannah’s Mill. The surrounding community, now absorbed by Thomaston, is also known as Hannah’s Mill.
D. P. Harrell was the next owner, presumably following Dr. Hannah’s death. Since 1932, it has been owned by the Joseph W. McDonald family. The mill closed in the 1970s.
Though some sources note that a John or Thomas Gilbert constructed the first mill, now known as Chappell’s Mill, on Big Sandy Creek [South Sandy Creek] in northern Laurens County circa 1811, it is more likely that it was James Stanley II (1771-1841), a settler from Jones County, North Carolina, who purchased nearly 2000 acres surrounding the millpond. [Primary sources are not available to me, so I cannot be certainof the date of the purchase, but the Stanley family migrated to Laurens County in 1811. It seems more than coincidental that the date of their move happens to be the date generally accepted for the construction of the mill]. He also operated a mercantile on the site.
The millpond site is considered to be the oldest man-made landmark in Laurens County. The old mill house, seen in the first two photographs, dates to the 1840s and was built after the original structure, which stood on the north side of the pond, washed away during a flood.
The stone work in the foundation certainly indicates the work of early craftsmen, almost certainly enslaved laborers.
Upon Stanley’s death in 1841, his son Ira B. (1802-1858) took control of the operations. He served Laurens County as sheriff in the 1820s and state representative in the 1830s. Until just after the Civil War the site was known as Stanley Mills, but in 1868 Ira’s son-in-law, James W. Chappell, gained majority interest in the mill. It has since been known as Chappell’s Mill.
Ira Stanley Chappell (1859-1931) was the last member of the Chappell family to own the mill. He sold it circa 1917 to Allen J. Dixon who sold it in 1943 to Dr. T. J. Blackshear.
Dr. Blackshear eventually sold it to Alex Dixon’s grandsons, James and Forrest Townsend.
During their ownership, the mill was expanded and electrified (1950s).
The Townsends always felt that water power resulted in a superior meal but the volume of work mandated the modernization.
At its peak, production ran to over 15,000 bushels per year.
The mill remained in operation until 1997. Its importance is not only in its longevity but in the fact that various structures associated with different eras of milling, from water power to electricity, as well as a mercantile and various barns, remain largely intact, and illustrate the evolution of what was one of Georgia’s most important early industries.
I am grateful to the caretaker for allowing me to photograph. It is private property and he noted that law enforcement often has to disperse trespassers. It’s an invaluable historical resource and the owners have been good stewards.
This site on Lanahassee Creek has been home to a grist mill since the mid-1800s, according to an oral history conducted by Mia Harris in 2016 [Columbus State University Archives: Marion County Heritage Tour, April 2016]. Located near two historic communities (Church Hill and Pineville), the mill has been operated by three generations of the Upton family.
It ceased regular operations in 1950 but was revived in for a few years beginning in 1980. The late Billy E. Powell, son of Myrtice Evelyn Upton Powell, rebuilt the mill in 1994 and the sluice gate was rebuilt more recently.
The pond is known as Powell’s Mill Pond. It is one of the most beautiful locations in all of Marion County.
Euharlee was originally known as Burge’s Mill, for the grist mill Nathaniel Burge operated on Euharlee Creek. The earlier mill burned around 1880 and was rebuilt by Daniel Lowry. Sections of the foundation are likely remnants of the original antebellum mill. A plan to rebuild the mill has been proposed, but I’m unsure of its status at this time.
The Old Brick Mill at Lindale is the only surviving antebellum brick grist mill in Northwest Georgia and one of just a handful of surviving antebellum mills of any construction in Georgia. It was built of bricks made on site by enslaved people. Located on Silver Creek just across the road from the entrance to the Lindale Manufacturing Company, it is a favorite spot for photographers. Though it ceased operation as a grist mill in the late 1890s, it remained an important community landmark, serving as home to a local Garden Club, Boy Scout troop, and Masonic lodge at various times throughout the 20th century. The Lindale paper, The Georgia Free Lance, was also printed here around 1909.
The landmark, believed to have been built for Larkin Barnett in the 1830s, has seen various changes over time, including the loss of the mill race, the original wheel, and steps, but retains much of its structural integrity. Subsequent private owners and operators were William Cabe of Alabama [Silver Creek Mills], Jacob Henry Hoss [millwright], Joseph Fulcher, William Hemphill Jones, and Mary Jane & Sarah Elizabeth Jones. It ceased operation when it was purchased by the Massachusetts Mills. It was restored by the Lindale Garden Club, who won a National Award for Historic Preservation for their efforts, in 1975.
Montour Mill Store, Circa 1857; photographed in 2014.
When I photographed these forlorn structures in 2014, I felt they had an important history but also realized they probably didn’t have a promising future. My fears were confirmed last week when James Woodall reported they had been torn down.
Montour Mill House, Side View, Circa 1857; photographed in 2014.
Further conversation with Karen West and Sistie Hudson highlight their importance and the tragedy of their loss. The structures were apparently the last two survivors of the antebellum Montour Mill village. The mill, chartered in 1857, was anchored by a four-story brick factory building. It was likely devastated by the Civil War and attempted a return to production, but was finished by 1884. The property and village was large enough to have been considered as a location for Georgia Tech in 1883. In Houses of Hancock 1785-1865, John Rozier notes: Even in ruins, the big brick factory was a Sparta landmark until it was taken down in 1951.
Karen West: It was originally a mill store owned and operated by a Jewish immigrant. He wrote 15 articles for the Sparta Ishmaelite about life in Czarist Russia. He extended credit to whoever needed it, regardless of race or religion. So sad to see a piece of Sparta history so disregarded. Hopefully someone has pictures of earlier, happier times for that little store.
Sistie Hudson: I took pictures, too—have admired it since I was a little girl…Jacob Nagurya [also written as Nagiiryn] was a Polish Jew. He was a favorite of Editor Sidney Lewis, hence the articles in the Ishmaelite. He owned the first phonograph in the county and sold them as well. He also served as rabbi for the Jewish Community in Sparta. I remember when there was still a row of mill houses across the street from this store. I am so sad about this loss—I have admired it for over 60 years.
I’ve not been able to locate much information about Fickling Mill, but it’s definitely one of the best-loved landmarks in the area. The tin building (pictured above) was not part of the original mill, which had its origins in the 19th century. A two-story wooden structure was originally located to the right of the spillway on Patsiliga Creek but either burned or was torn down at some point in the history of the site.
It’s my understanding that the mill was established by Major William Hampton Fickling (1834-1907), Company C 59th Regiment Georgia Volunteer Infantry. Major Fickling was a Justice of the Peace and served Taylor County in the general assembly.
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 