21 April 1869: Power and Potential of Water in Athens

On this day in 1869, the Southern Watchman published this inventory of horse power availalbe in the Athens area:

Water Power in and Around Athens, Ga.

   We are indebted to JAMES D. PITTARD, ESQ., for the following useful information, which we are assured is perfectly reliable: 

     Athens Factory Shoals, Athens, on Oconee River; 200 horse power; 100 in use.

     Georgia Factory Shoals, 4 miles from Athens, on Oconee River; 300 horse power; 125 in use.

     W. A. Carr's Shoals, Athens, on Oconee River; 125 horse power; none in use.

     S. J. Mays' Shoals, 3 miles from Athens, on Oconee River; 150 horse power; none in use.

     Cook's Armory Shoals, Athens, on Trail C'k; 75 horse power; 10 in use.

     Smith's Shoals, 6 miles from Athens, on Oconee River; 100 horse power; none in use.

     Wm. A. Carr's Creek Shoals, Athens; 10 horse power; none in use.

     Elijah Carr's Creek Shoals, one mile from Athens; 25 horse power; none in use.

     Barnett's Shoals, 4 miles from Athens, on Nocatchie Creek; 10 horse power.

     John Saye's Shoals, on Little Sandy Creek; 14 horse power.

     W. P. Talmadge's two Shoals, on Sandy C'k, 4 miles from Athens; 12 and 25 horse power.

     Wm. Patman's Shoals, on Middle Oconee River, 8 miles from Athens; 150 horse power; none in use.

     Fowler's Shoals, on Middle Oconee River, 7 miles from Athens; 200 horse power; none in use.

     Mitchell's Shoals, 4 miles from Athens, on Middle Oconee River; 150 horse power; none in use.

     Epps' Shoals, 2 1/2 miles from Athens, on Middle Oconee River; 90 horse power; none in use.

     Princeton Factory Shoals, 3 miles from Athens, on Middle Oconee River; 400 horse power; 40 in use.

     Simonton's Bridge Shoals, 4 miles from Athens, on Middle Oconee River; 100 horse power; none in use.

     Mar's Hill Factory Shoals, 7 miles from Athens, on Barber's Creek; 50 horse power; none in use.

     Epps' Shoals, on Barber's Creek, 4 1/2 miles from Athens; 50 horse power; none in use.

    Paper Mill Shoals, 4 miles from Athens, on Barber's Creek; 75 horse power; 50 in use.

     Colt's Mill Shoals, 7 miles from Athens, on Big Sandy Creek; 50 horse power, 25 in use.

     Jennings' Mill Shoals, 6 miles from Athens, on McNut's Creek; 30 horse power, 20 in use.

     Epps' Shoals, on McNut's Creek, 3 1/2 miles from Athens; 25 horse power; none in use.

     Barnett's Shoals, on Oconee River, 8 miles from Athens--two Shoals, 500 horse power each; 60 feet fall; none in use.

   It will thus be seen that there is a vast amount of water-power running to waste in the vicinity of this town.

Southern Watchman, 21 April 1869, p. 3, col. 1

James D. Pittard served as Intendant of Athens for two one-year terms, in 1867 and 1868, and was Mayor in 1873. (Athens did not have a mayor until 1872, when the state legislature granted Athens a city charter.)  He died in 1884 after a long illness, and is buried in Oconee Hill Cemetery.

Though still somewhat impoverished by the war, the Athens industry was growing and expanding rapidly throughout the 1860s. By the end of the century, water would power not just the local mills and factories, but would electrify Athens homes, businesses, government, schools, and transportation options.

Learn More:

• Southern Watchman, Jan. 1868 - Feb. 1871 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Transition to an Industrial South: Athens, Georgia, 1830-1870 by Michael J. Gagnon in the Heritage and general collections.
• Oconee Hill Cemetery of Athens, Georgia, Volume I by Charlotte Thomas Marshall in the Heritage and general collections. 
• History of Athens and Clarke County, Georgia by H. J. Rowe in the Heritage and general collections.
• Annals of Athens, 1801-1901 in the Heritage collection. 
• Chicopee Mill History by Olivia Bloomfield Carlisle in the Heritage collection.
• Paper Town/Cord Mill: A 150 Year Old Community by Larry Parr in the Heritage collection.
• Scull Shoals: The Mill Village That Vanished in Old Georgia by Robert Skarda in the Heritage collection.
• The Power of Water: Four Early Mill Sites on Georgia's Oconee River by Karen G. Wood in the Heritage and general collections.
• Hydropower for the Future: New Ways of Turning Water into Energy by Allison Stark Draper in the children's collection.
• Producing Your Own Power: How to Make Nature's Energy Sources Work for You by Carol Hupping in the general collection.