Mill Products

Mill Products. Lumber, Grist, and Ginning. Athens' first settlers used the huge forests and fertile soil of the area to build their homes and provide food and clothing material., The first industry along the North Oconee River in Athens was a sawmill and gristmill run by Daniel Easley. Water provided the power to saw wood, and cut corn and wheat into a course meal called grist. The grist could be ground further into flour. After cotton was intruded into the area (ca. 1800), Mr. Easley offered cotton ginning as a service. William Carr ran a water-powered grist and sawmill upstream on trail Creek. By changing raw materials into a more finished product, these industries helped Athens grow from a frontier village into a bustling town., (captions) , At the sawmill huge oak, hickory, chestnut, and pine trees were sawn into lumber to provide wood for houses, barns, fences, wagons, wheels, barrels, tool handles, furniture, and other items., The local farmers brought their wheat and corn seeds to the gristmill to be ground into grist and flour., The water-powered cotton gin cleaned the seed and lint from the king cotton fibers. This allowed the settlers to card and spin the fibers more easily.