November 1, 2015
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We went for a hike in Sweetwater Creek State Park, which is very close to our daughter’s place in Douglasville, Georgia. It was a beautiful sunrise.
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The trees haven’t lost their leaves in Georgia yet, so hiking along Sweetwater Creek was very colorful. Our granddaughter enjoyed sitting on the rocks listening to the sound of the water.
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We spent some time looking at the five-story ruins of the Civil War-era New Manchester Textile Mill.
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The New Manchester Manufacturing Company built the mill in 1849 along the banks of Sweetwater Creek.
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Slave labor made all the bricks, dug the millrace and built the mill.
It was a cotton mill, but during the Civil War they made material for the Confederate Army. Towards the end of the war in 1864, Union Forces marched through the area and set fire to the mill after arresting more than seventy workers—mainly women and children—in an effort to cut off the supply line to the Confederate Army.
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Now the mill sits in ruins but most of the bricks are still standing, although they are blackened from the fire.
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It is interesting to see the large natural rock placed on top of the hand cut rock arch.
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This keystone was the final stone placed during construction and allows the arch to bear weight. Luckily, this part did not burn.
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Although past peak color, many trees still retain their leaves along Sweetwater Creek.
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The reflections made in the fast moving water were mesmerizing.
