Georgia Magazine - October 2024 - 26

Around GEORGIA
" A lot of companies had baseball teams, so
Continued from page 24
you might find an old baseball field, " she says.
" Some built day-care centers, 4-H buildings,
churches and schools. Sometimes you'll see these
groupings of buildings, which are pretty cool. "
Start with the website at westgatextiletrail.
com, then look for museums and historical
societies with textile exhibits. Follow the
website's suggested walking and driving tours
in communities from Columbus to Dalton.
Here are some highlights.
Columbus
Columbus was a leading center of cotton
production in the South from the early 1800s
through the mid-1900s. Old mill buildings and
cotton warehouses have been refurbished for other uses.
" Columbus has done a really good job in telling their story, " McCleary
says. " Their history is fascinating, as Columbus was a huge hub for cotton. "
Don't miss the Columbus Museum (1251 Wynnton Road; columbus
museum.com), with its permanent regional exhibits on the textile industry,
including history and artifacts. Learn how the city was a national leader
in manufacturing uniforms and other supplies during World War II and, in
later years, making denim for blue jeans sold globally under brand names.
Visit the Chattahoochee RiverWalk (1000 Bay Ave.; bit.ly/columbus
riverwalk), a 15-mile linear park that extends into the historic cotton-mill
town of Bibb City. The Bibb Mill (3715 First Ave.; thebibbmill.com) was
built in 1902 and operated for 100 years. At one time, it was the nation's
largest cotton mill. The building is now a premier wedding and event
venue and retains its original pine floors, weathered brick walls and
floor-to-ceiling windows.
Heritage Park (West Seventh Street) includes self-guided tours of
the city's industrial heritage. Learn more about textile history at
VisitColumbusGA (118 W. 11th St.; visitcolumbusga.com) or Heritage
Tours (1440 Second Ave.; historiccolumbus.com/tours), with tours
sponsored by Historic Columbus that address cotton shipping,
warehouses and mills of the city's past.
LaGrange
LaGrange and Troup County were hubs of textile manufacturing for
nearly 180 years. The Callaway, Truitt and Dunson families had lasting
effects on LaGrange's textile past.
Learn more about the history of LaGrange and Troup County at the
Legacy Museum on Main (136 Main St.; trouphistory.org), which includes
a permanent exhibit on the county's textile past.
Plan to drive or walk by to get a glimpse of LaGrange's historic mill
buildings, such as Dixie Cotton Mills (701 Greenville St.); Dunson Mills and
mill village (Fulton Street); the Elm City Cotton Mills and mill village (1005
Elm St.); and Hillside Cotton Mills and mill village (1300 Brownwood Ave.).
For more information about the textile history of LaGrange and Troup
County, visit bit.ly/lagrangetextiles.
Carrollton
Plan a visit to the Southeastern Quilt & Textile Museum (306 Bradley
St.; sqtmuseum.org) to learn how the city became a textile manufacturing
26 Georgia Magazine October 2024
Top: The Legacy Museum on Main in LaGrange has a
permanent exhibit on the textile past of Troup County.
Also on display is the world's oldest cotton bale.
Above: Textile companies often had amenities for
employees such as day-care centers, schools and
recreational activities. This photo depicts Callaway Mills'
baseball team. The Callaway family was one of several
influential families in the textile industry in LaGrange.
hub in the 20th century.
The museum is in an old cotton warehouse and
has rotating exhibits on regional quilts and the textile
arts. Imagine a World, the museum's latest exhibition,
opened Sept. 25 and will close Dec. 20. It features
kindness-focused works by artists and friends Maxine
Hess and Jeanne Hewell-Chambers.
Take a walking tour of downtown Carrollton
and see other former cotton warehouses and mill
buildings.
Bremen
Book a tour of the Sewell Mill Museum
inside the Sewell Mill Events & Community Center
(126 Hamilton Ave.; thesewellmill.com) and learn
why Bremen once was called " the Clothing Center
of the South. "
The Sewell Mill building, built in 1912 as a cotton
Continued on page 28
COURTESY TROUP COUNTY ARCHIVES AND
LEGACY MUSEUM
COURTESY TROUP COUNTY ARCHIVES AND LEGACY MUSEUM

http://westgatextiletrail.com/ http://westgatextiletrail.com/ http://www.columbusmuseum.com http://www.columbusmuseum.com http://bit.ly/columbusriverwalk http://bit.ly/columbusriverwalk http://www.thebibbmill.com http://www.visitcolumbusga.com http://www.historiccolumbus.com/tours http://www.trouphistory.org http://bit.ly/lagrangetextiles http://www.thesewellmill.com http://www.sqtmuseum.org

Georgia Magazine - October 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - October 2024