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Hightower Mills today
Used by permission from Hightower Falls Facility Owners
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"Sept. Thursday 9, 1886 Bro. [John] Ganis and I went to Mr. Hightowers mill to see his son Franklin Ganus. I had a good time with him. While Bro. [John] Ganus and his 3 sons, John, Rody and Boby made shingles and hauled them to Mr. Hightowers mill. I met with two of old John Waldrops sons. . . . After knight Boby Ganus and myself walked home, 6 miles to Bro. J. Ganus. TIRED
Sept. Friday 10, 1886……..about noon Bro. [John] Ganus and the boys come from the mill. They laughed at me about not stoping at the mill all knight. I told them that I had got tired of living or lying on the soft side of a board during the war. Stayed all knight at Bro. Ganus."
According to Elder Murphy's journal entry written on July 17, 1886, John lived about five miles from Cedartown and about six miles from Hightower Mill. (Mill location is indicated by the Green marker with the Star. )
"Sept. Sunday 11, 1886 Saturday I spent the day at Ganuses wrote a letter to Bro. D.H. Peery of Ogden concerning W.F. Ganus getting a job with him in the mill."
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Hightower Mill
Used with permission from
The Georgia Department of Archives
and History
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In reading about D.H. Peery of Ogden, I learned that he owned the Weber Grist Mill in Ogden, Utah, which leads me to believe that Frank likely was familiar with Grist mill work and possibly worked within the grist mill portion of the Hightower Mill. I had hoped to find a clue in census records, but of course, 1890 is non-existent and on the 1880 US Federal Census, Frank (William on that particular census) is listed as a farmer, so the census does not provide any additional clues to what Frank may have done within the mill. In addition, the above journal entry creates a new question. Why were John and his boys all coming from the mill on Friday? Did they all work there? All census records seem to indicate that John and his boys farmed.
Hightower Mills today
Used by permission from Hightower Falls Facility Owners
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The area has been beautifully preserved and although the purpose of the site has changed over the years, the ruins stand as a reminder of an earlier day when it was a bustling mill and served the surrounding communities. As I look at the pictures of the mill above, I can almost imagine John and his boys leaving through the arched stone door, laughing and talking to each other, but tired and eager to get home at the end of a long day.
Copyright © Michelle G. Taggart 2017, All rights reserved