Reflecting the Past - by Mikey Sims, a Volunteer at Prater S Mill for 36 Years

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Reflecting the Past
- by Mikey Sims, a volunteer at Prater’s Mill for 36 years.

I am often asked “How did you get involved in all this?” The short answer is that one thing led to another and it took on a life of its own. It is much the same with the Foundation and the Country Fair.

Back in 1971 the once handsome Prater’s Mill was in a sad state...the roof was sagging, the floor had gaping holes and the grounds were overgrown. It was obvious to everyone that the old mill needed help so the idea was born to have an old fashioned country fair at the mill to raise funds for restoration. Judy Alderman and Barry Miller and their families had the first fair on Mother’s Day weekend that year with about 20 exhibitors and between 1500 and 2000 curious visitors who were pleased to see the building saved and who encouraged her to continue the project.

The fairs were held once a month and by December the rust was finally loosened on the turbine so that cornmeal could be ground at Prater’s again. Judy’s husband, Wayne, with the help of George Kyle, a retired miller, were the ones who by sheer determination, finally conquered the turbine. They tried every rust dissolving compound on the market with no success. As a last resort they decided to use a five foot wrench and brute force. With feet firmly planted on the walls of the forebay, and with all their strength, they began forcing the shaft of the turbine. As nightfall approached, Judy heard them let out a gleeful yelp followed by the rhythmic sound of the turbine. The mill stones were cleaned and cornmeal was ground late into the night and is still ground during each fair.

Restoration was slow. They did most of the work themselves and were beginning to see progresss when the Coahulla Creek flooded in the spring of 1973. Rising water reached a height of five feet inside the mill causing extensive damage to the old building. Armed with a loan from the bank, they hired three men to repair and paint the structure. They replaced floor joists that had washed away and scraped off the one inch thick mud left inside by the flood. The local hardware store happened to have several gallons of some mismade paint and this is when the mill?s color changed to this particular shade of “Matador Red”, a name made up by Mr. Guthrie on the spot. This was brought to light years later after the hardware store closed. By this time the ranks had swollen. Monroe and Jane Harrell enthusiastically embraced the project and encouraged some of their friends, families and neighbors to help.

Together they spent hundreds of hours working on the mill and the grounds preparing for the fairs which have become so popular that their attendance for each show was in the neighborhood of ten to fifteen thousand.

In the 1980’s the ranks of volunteers continued to grow to almost 30 people of all ages who would work on the mill and grounds all weekend for months proceeding each fair. This group became known as The Prater’s Mill Gang and was often described as having more energy than sense.

As the gang and the festival grew so did our buildings. The adjacent granary was emptied of grain and the space was converted for exhibits by cutting doorways in the stacked 2x4 walls with a chainsaw. The grain was spread out on the grounds followed by alternating days of rain and sun which caused the grain to ferment just before a fair. Many chemicals were tried to eliminate the smell. None worked.

After the flood in 1973 the old Prater Store was turned into an artist studio and the exhibitor parking lot on the Mill side converted to exhibit space.

The complete 1915 cotton gin was donated by Mary and Earl Shugart and the Foundation built a building to house it. Using the hillside to prevent having to build a full two story building required for the equipment.

A shed was donated by the First Presbyterian Church and used for food booths. A well house was also moved to the property.
A hay shed was donated by the Borings and used to cover the Stage platform and seating. This was rebuilt by efforts of the Dalton amateur Radio Club after the blizzard of 1993 caused it’s collapse.
The Westbrook barn was donated by Collins & Aikman and moved down Highway 71 with much fanfare including someone riding atop the structure to lift sagging power lines up and over the moving mass.

The most recent edition is Dr. Lacewell’s office, an early Doctor’s office in the county. A small building donated by Lamar Combee, it now resides in the north-east corner of the store side exhibit area.

In 1994 another flood invaded the mill. This time the waters just reached about 18 inches inside the mill. Two large logs ended up in the forebay and the gang used chains & ropes and tried several 4x4 vehicles before the logs were successfully removed.

As you may guess, flooding is common at the mill and as a result from decades of water damage the main support beam rotted and was soon dislodged. Originally this beam was a twelve inch by twelve inch heart pine beam spanning 28 feet. We had a great task in replacing it as there are no pine trees that big anymore. Two oak trees were sought out and notched together to replace the once single piece. It took eight men with jacks, chains & pulleys to wrestle these beams into place.

Arson almost took the mill from us in 1995. Through the gallant efforts of the Whitfield County Volunteer Firefighters the structure was saved. Though repaired and painted on the outside, the damage is still evident from inside the Mill.

The Mill was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The efforts of the Prater’s Mill Foundation to preserve the mill and its skills and traditional crafts of those bygone days were recognized in 1991 by the Georgia Trust which presented the Foundation with the Award for Outstanding Historic Preservation. We have been recognized as a Legacy of American Tradition by the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress and were included in National Geographic’s Discover Appalachia.

Often featured in Brown’s Guide to Georgia, the Prater’s Mill Country Fair has been recognized by the American Bus Association as a Top 100 Event and frequently listed as one of the Top 20 Events in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society. The Festival has been visited by Senator Herman Talmage, Georgia Governor Lestor Maddox and a multitude of politicians and officials.

From a dilapidated building with holes in the roof and floor, peeling paint and rotten beams, Prater’s Mill is now a gleaming red, white trimmed, building with a new tin roof and repaired floor. Funds raised at the country fair have preserved this unique three story grist mill.

The event has grown over the years from a meager 20 exhibitors in the beginning to over 200 in recent years displaying articles ranging from handmade knives and baskets to fine oil paintings. Today, as always, the purpose of the Prater’s Mill Country Fair is to raise funds to preserve and restore this landmark and surrounding buildings.