I'll admit it: I'm never going to be a professional. I don't have it in me. What I've enjoyed about my camera, however, is the gift of memory it gives me. When I'm home, when my trip is done, I can look back at the pictures. I can google what I saw and discover that I was looking at more than I realized.
That's been valuable to me, as I realize how I've neglected learning about things within miles of my door. One of those is the Concord Woolen Mill. I've lived in this area for years and never visited it. Some history: The Mill was built in 1847, located along Nickajack Creek. The community located around the mill was named "Nickajack Factory" and was within close proximity of a community named Mill Grove.
Marin Ruff moved his family to Cobb from Henry County in the 1830's. About the same time, Robert Daniel, a great grandson of a colonial Governor of South Carolina, moved from Clark County, GA. The two men developed a complete mill community with a school, church and general store. The Union Army destroyed the factory on July 4, 1864, because it was making supplies for the Confederate troops. The Mill was rebuilt and began operations in 1869. It was eventually sold by Ruff and Daniel in 1872.
Cobb County's Dept of Transportation protected the remaining structure with ghost framing. Dynamiting from the nearby East West Connector construction might otherwise have caused the structure to become unstable.
It's unstable anyway. It's dissolving into the wetlands. The bricks crumble beneath your hands. Not that I really know this. Nope, didn't climb on it at all.
It's a great place. I'm glad my camera led me there.
--Laura
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1 comment:
Looks like a neat place. Mother Nature appears to be gradually winning back the site but it's great that it's been left alone. The "land trust" concept like you have in Cobb County is also interesting, and different from the "open space" out here in that citizens and volunteers do the governance.
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