The Welaunee Mill was built on the site of the old Phillips Mill, the oldest mill in Porterdale, and is similar to the Porterdale Mill across the Yellow River but on a smaller scale. The architecture is the same, incorporating continuous rows of segmental-arched windows and a four-story tower. Welaunee was the third and last facility built in the modern mill era that defined Porterdale.
Porterdale Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The Osprey Mill was built on the north side of the Yellow River, west of downtown Porterdale. It was the second mill build in the modern era and with a large complex of supporting structures, was the largest mill in town. I believe it was the last of the three, still in operation, and while originally similar in appearance to the Porterdale and Welaunee Mills, was modernized at some point to accommodate changing work requirements.
Porterdale Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The mills were the center of life in the town of Porterdale, and the Porterdale Mill, built in 1899, was the best known. It remains an engineering wonder, spanning about 800 feet of the Yellow River. A 125-foot stone dam was essential to the operation of the mill and is a landmark in its own right. During the early 20th century, the Porterdale mills manufactured more cotton rope than any other mill in the nation, and during World War II, they were the leading supplier of rope to the United States Navy.
The abandoned mill was later converted into housing, known as the Porterdale Mill Lofts, and still serves the community in this incarnation.
Porterdale Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Recent clearing of this property has revealed more of this structure than has been visible for years. I’ve been admiring and curious about it for years. I once wondered if it weren’t an old Plantation Plain house that had been converted into something else. A Georgia Historic Resources Survey dates it to circa 1874 and confirms its history as a mill. It is believed to have been moved to this site in 1930. Some of the bricks appear to be handmade, so I wonder if they weren’t recycled and added to the mill once it was moved. I haven’t been able to determine anything about the early history after consulting numerous sources. It’s probably just a case of the lore of the present obfuscating the history of the past. The mill, in its present form, was operational until the early 1960s.
Somewhere near this property, which is known as the Murray Estate, there was a campground and store, where for a few weeks each winter, Romanichal people made their home and traded with local citizens. The Romanichal were a Romani subgroup, generically known as gypsies. The term “gypsy” has always been somewhat derogatory and is now considered by many Romani an insult. Its use here is derived from its historical context in this community.
The property has been a landmark of Buena Vista for nearly a century, so it’s nice to see it looking better than it has in many years. I don’t know if there are any plans for its future, but I’m sure it could be put to good use as a community resource.
For lack of a better term, I’m identifying this as a gate house. It’s located near the entrance to the power building beside the Juliette Dam, on the Jones County side. It was likely used for guarding access to the dam. As it stands, it’s very endangered.
A lot of people go to Juliette to visit the Whistle Stop Cafe [of Fried Green Tomatoes fame], and that’s a fun day, but my favorite landmark in this historic community is the old Juliette Milling Company. It may appear abandoned but it is private property.
From 1927 until its closure in 1957, it was the leading industry in the area. At its peak in the 1930s, it was the largest stone-ground meal facility in the world, buying upwards of a million bushels of corn per year. J. M. Birch was the president of the company, famous for its Juliette Grits brand. The four-story concrete mill, encompassing nearly 20,000 square feet, was advantageously located between the Ocmulgee River and the adjacent Southern Railway line.
This old brick mill building, with its distinctive towers, is located just beside I-75 north of Forsyth. It was a landmark on trips to and from Atlanta when I was a child. It’s an old cotton mill, perhaps the Brighton Mill, but was later part of Bibb Manufacturing Company, which built a modern mill behind it sometime after World War II. Today, it’s home to a discount furniture business. I will update when I learn more about the history.
Henry Harford Cumming envisioned Augusta as the “Lowell of the South” [in reference to the textile hub in Massachusetts] and was the driving force behind the Augusta Canal. The first nine-mile section was completed between 1845-1846, and within a couple of years three mills had already been risen along the waterway. Built near the end of the Canal Era [roughly 1800-1850], it was amazingly successful, as most Southern canals never were, and is the only intact industrial canal still in use in the South today. It was lengthened and enlarged between 1872-1877. It was after this expansion that most of the mills associated with Augusta’s industrial heritage were constructed. These included the Enterprise, Blanche, Sibley, and King Mills. I believe the present gatehouse dates to the expansion period in the 1870s.
A V-shaped dam diverts the Savannah River at the headgates and below it are what is now known as the Savannah Rapids. It is a popular recreation area and a very picturesque location.
Along the walkway at the gatehouse you’ll notice hundreds, if not thousands, of modern padlocks. These have been left behind by visitors over the years, as a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the place. I’m not sure when the tradition started, but it has definitely caught on.
Augusta Canal Industrial District, National Register of Historic Places + National Historic Landmark + Augusta Canal National Heritage Area
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.
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 