Today’s Mystery Photo stands in ruins, and your job is to tell about the ruins and where they are located. Be sure to include your name and address when you send to elliott@brack.net.
The Mystery Photo in the last edition drew several responses, including several incorrect ones. (No, it was not Watson Mill Bridge.) The photo came from Brian Brown of Fitzgerald and his Vanishing Georgia photographic library.
Stewart Woodard of Lawrenceville sent in: “It is the Poole’s Mill Bridge, a historic wooden covered bridge over Settendown Creek (a tributary of the Etowah River) in Forsyth County, Ga. built in 1901. It is 96 feet long. Circa 1820, Cherokee Chief George Welch constructed a gristmill, a sawmill, and a simple open bridge at the site. Welch continued to run and maintain the mills and bridge until the Cherokee removal in 1838.
“The land that held the bridge and mills was won in the land lottery by John Maynard of Jackson County, Ga., who sold the land to Jacob Scudder. Following Scudder’s death in 1870 the mill and bridge were bought by Dr. M.L. Pool. A cotton gin was added at the site in 1920, but cotton was largely abandoned by local farmers when the poultry farming was introduced. The mill was left in disuse by 1947 and was burned by vandals in 1959.
“The original bridge that stood at the site was washed away in a flood in 1899. A new bridge using the Lattice truss bridge style would be built on the site. The design called for wooden pegs to be driven into holes bored into wooden beams to hold the design together. The beams were cut on site at the saw mill, but the holes were bored in the wrong positions. At this point the construction was taken over by Bud Gentry, who oversaw the redrilling of the holes. The mis-drilled holes can still be seen in the bridge’s beams.
“In the mid-1990s the bridge began to sag and a revitalization effort began. A support pier was built in the middle of the creek. During this revitalization private citizens also donated land in the area to allow the creation of Poole’s Mill Park.”
Others recognizing the bridge were Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex.; Michael Gagnon, Flowery Branch; Kay Montgomery, Duluth; Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill; Lou Camerio, Lilburn; and George Graf of Palmyra, Va.
Gwinnett Parks win honors for school readiness program
The National Association of County Park and Recreational Professionals awarded Gwinnett County the 2022 Social Justice Award for its Building Brains Anywhere program. The award recognizes outstanding leadership and collaboration in community programs or projects. It also honors park systems that have served as a change agent and made a tangible impact in the community by prioritizing a culture of equity and inclusion. Gwinnett launched B2 Anywhere in 2021 to help improve school readiness and academic success for youth in target areas with a critical need for support. Accepting the Social Justice Award were Gwinnett Community Services Department Director Tina Fleming; B2Anywhere Project Coordinator Tania Ballou; Deputy Division Director Jason West; and Deputy Department Director Lindsey Jorstad.
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