Historical research often yields a number of surprises, some that can never be included in the work in progress (WIP). How amazing it can be to learn things about your own state.
When my colleague shared with me about the Georgia women who were shipped north during the Civil War, I didn’t even remember which town they were from. Research led me to Roswell first, as that town survived the Union assault. Then I found Mary Deborah Petite’s wonderful, exhaustive work on the incident (The Women Will Howl) and discovered women also came from New Manchester.
What? Manchester? I live half an hour from there!
But no, it was NEW Manchester, a town that disappeared by the end of the war, located in a county that no longer exists. Campbell County “disappeared” when it was divided up between Douglas and Fulton counties.
Town and County Gone
As Ms. Petite says, we have no clear explanation of what happened to the homes in New Manchester. It was a farming community before the Sweetwater Mill was built, so it’s possible some of the people not connected to the mill remained. The Union Army burned the mill, as they did in Roswell, but evidently left the houses untouched. Although we have records of several families that returned to the area after the war, the village did not rise again.
The state of Georgia took possession of the mill property and created the Sweetwater Creek State Park. The park includes the mill ruins and offers fishing, hiking trails, picnic tables and campsites. Only a short drive from Atlanta, it’s a good place to escape the fast pace of 21st Century life. A link for that site is given below.
