Historic Banning Mills
Historic Banning Mills is located on the beautiful Snake Creek in Carroll County, Georgia. It is an area rich in history and currently the home to a beautiful country inn, Historic Banning Mills. We invite you to visit and explore this history.
A Brief History of Banning Mills
The area was originally home to the Creek and Cherokee nations. They lived in lodges made of pine poles and mud plaster and farmed and hunted along the rich, fertile lands of the Chattahoochee River area.
By the early 1800s, white settlement had moved into the Carroll County area, which was still considered part of the Wild West. It was also home to Chief William McIntosh, a half breed Creek Indian. He fought with Andrew Jackson and became a Brigadier General, and the only Indian to reach that rank. Chief McIntosh signed the Treaty of Indian Springs on February 12, 1825. This treaty infuriated the Upper Creek nation and so sealed his death warrant. On May 1, 1825, a large party of Upper Creek Indians came to McIntoshs home and set fire to it.
Because there were few water power sites in the Carroll County area, large scale industry was late in developing there. In 1846, a manufacturing community, built by the Bowen brothers was located on the Snake Creek which is about two miles from present day Whitesburg. It consisted of a textile mill with five hundred spindles that produced yarn. The mills and town that grew up around it was originally called Bowensville.
The post Civil War era saw a decline in the mill town success. In 1878, Arthur Hutcheson acquired the textile mill and U.B. Wilkinson acquired the paper mill, It is now confirmed by Georgia Tech as the birth place of the modern day Paper Industry. By 1882, the textile mill, which was now known as Hutcheson Manufacturing Company had 2000 spindles and 14 cards which manufactured warp and bunchy yarn. It was at this time the name of the mill town changed to Banning.
The mill town was still thriving at the time of Mr. Hutchesons death on April 5, 1895. By this time, there were up to 10 mills, including 2 pulp mills, a paper mill, grist mill and saw mill. All of these lay within a miles length of each other along the Snake Creek. It was one of the first towns in Georgia to produce its own electricity- well before Atlanta and was produced there until 1917.
Things to do at Bannning Mills
Banning Mills has one of the longest and highest canopy tours in the world. Check out the new half mile long zip line called the Screaming Eagle!
Other opportunities include:
- Learning about the unique eco system of the Snake Creek Gorge
- Team Building low and high ropes courses with leadership training! Ask us about our new GPS Treks for leadership and adventure!
- Several adventure opportunities like horseback riding, skeet and kayaking on the Chattahoochee River
- Historical interpretive center that spans the Creek Indian era thru the Civil War and early industrial era of Banning Mills.
- Bird of Prey Programs with Dale Arrowood and The Winged Ambassadors
- Country Inn and Conference center with free internet service, state of the art meeting space and on site chef.
- Day spa
- Historical hiking trails for our guests.
- Courses like First responder, Wilderness Survival classes and Level 1 low and high ropes facilitator training
Contact Information
For more information, go to their website at http://www.historicbanningmills.com. Feel free to call at 770 834 9149 or email them at