Trail Length: 1.0 miles	Type of trail: Loop
County: Fulton County, GA	Our rating:
Features: river, historic, family	Your rating:
Usage:	Added on: December 00, 0000
Last hiked: February 27, 2002	Updated on: August 04, 2005
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Additional Trails Hiking trails in Fulton County, GA

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Trail head

Descending into Vickery Creek Gorge on wooden steps, this intepreted trail takes you past the mill's power plant, the spinning room, and along the banks of the creek to the dam that helped to create the power for Roswell Mill.

The Vickery Creek Trail is a wonder to behold. Since we first hiked this trail in 1996 (the trail actually dates to 1983), the Roswell Historic Association has been working hard to preserved the trail and the remnants of the old cotton mill through which it runs. They have done a great job at both. The trail now begins with poured cement steps that takes you down the old wooden steps that fall to the river's flood plain.

The start of the sluice at the antebellum dam

On the stair-step climb down intepretive signs tell the story of Roswell Mill. Roswell is named for Roswell King, overseer at the infamous Butler Plantation who became a Darien banker after a falling out with the plantation's owners. The mill was founded by King's son Barrington in 1836 along Vickery Creek and incorporated three years later as the Roswell Manufacturing Company. Today's city of Roswell grew up around the mill.

The mill was one of the largest in the Southeast at the start of the Civil War, and was considered to be a major objective in William Tecumseh Sherman's Atlanta Campaign. It was here that the famous "Roswell Gray," used in uniforms for the Confederate soldiers was made. During the War Between the States the millworkers were forcibly removed, first to Marietta, then further north to Nashville and Louisville, Ky., where they were released north of the Ohio River. Circumstancial evidence indicates woman and female children may have been assaulted before being moved to Marietta.

The mill was destroyed by Kenner Garrard in spite of the fact that it was operation under a French flag (the owners had sold it to Theophile Roche, mill foreman, before the Union troops arrived). The ruse did not work. After the war Roswell Mill was rebuilt and expanded. One of the highlights of the hike is a peek at the vintage power shed. Until 1872 the mill was powered by an overshot wheel, when it was replaced by a turbine.

After visiting the mill, follow the path to the dam. This beautiful structure was built in 1836 and has been modified several times. Originally, a set of wooden planks across the top of the dam allowed carriages to cross the river. The metal racks that held the planks are still visible at the top of the dam.

From the dam the path follows the creek along what appears to be a relatively new roadbed, perhaps to provide easy access to the mill. Towards the end it climbs quickly to a cul-de-sac. From here, continue on to Sloan Street and head west (left) down this street to the parking lot near the trail head. You may want to taked a few minutes to visit the Founders Cemetery, across the street from the entrance to the mill. Here you will find the graves of many famous early north Georgia residents.

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Trail Length: 1.0 miles	Type of trail: Loop
County: Fulton County, GA	Our rating:
Features: river, historic, family	Your rating:
Usage:	Added on: December 00, 0000
Last hiked: February 27, 2002	Updated on: August 04, 2005
About these ratings
Additional Trails Hiking trails in Fulton County, GA

Vickery Creek Trail
Vickery Creek Trail maps and directions
Trail reports for Vickery Creek Trail
Historic reports for Vickery Creek Trail