Sitting on the banks the beautiful Euharlee Creek is Hightower’s Mill. Located at the base of the Appalachian Mountains and a short distance from Cedartown, Georgia, the mill was built about 1843 by Elias Dorsey Hightower and was largely a grist and woolen mill. Apparently, John Monroe Ganus and his sons spent some time there because Elder Murphy and John M. Ganus visited John’s oldest son and my great grandfather, William Franklin Ganus, there early in the fall of 1886.
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.”
An additional entry in the Murphy journal indicates that Frank had some interest in working in a mill as the Ganus family prepared to leave and that Utah was initially a possibility for these Georgians’ relocation.
“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.“
Hightower Mill
Used with permission from
The Georgia Department of Archives
and History
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Hightower Mills today
Used by permission from Hightower Falls Facility Owners
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Today the ruins of the mill still stand. The present day owners purchased the property back in 1996 and, realizing the importance of the historical site, they made the property available for special activities such as weddings and family reunions. Standing on 100 acres, there are 12 camping cabins, pavilions and picnic areas and facilities. To see more pictures of the present day site and read about the history of the area, visit Hightower Falls.
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
I'm woefully behind in my reading. Maybe you will answer this in an upcoming post, but I wonder if the Ganus men were learning a new trade in preparation for the move. It is also possible they were simply assisting the miller with the milling of grain or whatever from their own farm. Isn't it amazing and wonderful to see the buildings where your ancestors walked!
I am really not sure Wendy, but that is probably a good possibility. I had someone else commented on Facebook that their mother remembers taking the grain from their fields to be milled and that is something I had not even considered before, but it makes total sense to me.