Читать книгу Afoot & Afield: Atlanta. 108 Spectacular Outings in North-Central Georgia онлайн

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Crossing Ash Creek in Smithgall Woods Conservation Area (ssss1)

Another important aspect of Georgia’s history is the effort to harness rivers to operate mills and generate power. In the early 1800s, settlers as well as Cherokee set up gristmills and sawmills along Georgia rivers and creeks. You can learn more about mill history by hiking Sweetwater Creek State Park southwest of Atlanta. Built in 1849, this mill—like so many others in Georgia—was burned by Union troops during the Civil War. In the late 1880s and early 1900s, work began to convert mills to generate power and meet the state’s growing demand for electricity. One of the more high-profile projects was construction of the Morgan Falls Dam on the Chattahoochee River to feed a hydroelectric plant. And the Vickery Creek trails near Roswell explore this area where the Roswell Manufacturing Company operated one of the South’s most important plants. But the industrial revolution was not confined to the Atlanta area. Watson Mill Bridge State Park, east of Athens, has trails that lead to the ruins of a hydroelectric plant that began operating near the South Fork River in 1905.