The Old Mill at Graysville, Georgia

The ruins of Graysville Mill after it was burned, possibly by vandals.

Blog Note: In response to a comment I received about last Friday's post, I'm reposting this article from April, 2022.

When we moved from Miami to Chattanooga in 1970, our new home, while in Tennessee, was only a mile or so from the village of Graysville, Georgia. The old mill, just on the other side of Chickamauga Creek from the village soon became a favorite destination for our walking, biking, or picnic excursions.

The village was laid out in the 1840s by John Gray, the English-born contractor who built the Western and Atlantic Railroad and dug the tunnel at Tunnel Hill. He liked the Northwest Georgia area so much that he bought 4,000 acres on Chickamauga Creek. He dammed the creek and built a large, three-story mill which was burned during the Civil War but was rebuilt in 1869 and continued to operate into the 1950s.

In the early '70s the mill was still pretty much intact. I made some photos of the interior, which are, unfortunately, in storage, but I seem to remember three milling stations with millstones approximately eight feet in diameter. A very impressive operation.

 The mill burned again in the late '70s. Possibly the work of vandals, or, it could have been picnickers or campers who let their fire get out of control. The heavy plank floors and massive wooden beams would have burned like tinder. 

 

 The house built on the mill ruin uses the foundation and original stones.

After the passage of some years, the site was purchased and an unique, three-story house was built on the ruin, using the mill foundation and many of the original stones.

If you like my photographs, you can see more of them in my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  Looking is free, and, who knows? You might find something you want to keep.

The second edition of my book, Backroads and Byways of Georgia will be released in June, 2023. 

Photographs and text copyright 2023 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.