Remembering Rabun County’s Gristmills: Overshot Waterwheels, Tolls and Moonshine By Dick Cinquina
Grist mill on Warwoman Creek, began as Captain Beck’s Mill, later operated as Wilbanks Mill and Darnell Mill
C
orn has been the main crop of Rabun County farmers since the first white settlers arrived over 200 years ago. Gristmills were built by Rabun farmers to grind the county’s corn harvests into meal for bread, grits and hominy. The output from gristmills also was used for something more potent than Johnnycakes. Virtually every Rabun community, from Persimmon in the west to Pine Mountain in the east, had its own gristmill. They had to be located within easy distance of farmers, because poor roads, more aptly called rutted wagon trails, made for slow going even in good weather. They became impassable quagmires when it rained. As an important part of their communities, gristmills became centers of village life as people waited for their corn to be ground into meal. Flumes and Overshot Waterwheels
Barker’s Creek Mill is located at the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences. They still grind whole wheat flour, cornmeal and grits.
The 27-foot wheel at Sylvan Falls is believed to be the largest east of the Mississippi.
68 GML - April 2021
Rabun County’s water-powered gristmills were built on strongly flowing streams such as Persimmon and Warwoman creeks. Water from the stream was conducted by a wooden flume to a large, vertically-mounted overshot waterwheel. A
Dick Cinquina holds graduate degrees in history and journalism, making his work for the Rabun County Historical Society a natural fit for his interests. He is the retired president of Equity Market Partners, a national financial consulting firm he founded in 1981. In addition to writing monthly articles for the Georgia Mountain Laurel, Dick helped produce the Society’s new web site and is involved with the renovation of the group’s museum. After vacationing in this area for many years, he and his wife Anne moved to Rabun County in 2018 form Amelia Island, Florida.
