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Nickajack Creek is a
White European settlers moved into Nickajack Creek in the mid-1800s. They formed a community initially known as 'Mill Grove', and later 'Nickajack.' The creek provided ample power to run grist, saw, cotton, and woolen mills. Robert Mable, founder of Mableton, assisted in building a gristmill owned by Henry Clay Ruff in the 1850s. Mable refined his skills as a millwright under the mentorship of Robert E. Lee at 
After the war, the Concord Manufacturing Company established a
stream
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...
in Cobb and Fulton
Fulton may refer to:
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* Robert Fulton (1765–1815), American engineer and inventor who developed the first commercially successful steam-powered ship
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* Fulton Allem (born 1957), South African golfer
* Fult ...
counties in the U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
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* Related to the ...
. It is a tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
to the Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida - Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chatta ...
. Groundwater serves as the water source, with the creek beginning in Marietta, Georgia. The creek runs through the city of Smyrna
Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...
and terminates at the Chattahoochee River in the town of Mableton.
History and Notable Landmarks
Tradition states Nickajack Creek was named after a localCherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
person, possibly the chief of a village that bore his name. One of the earliest known records of white Europeans being aware of the village inhabitants is an 1839 map depicting a 'Nickajack Creek' converging with the Chattahoochee River south and west of the Standing Peachtree settlement.
White European settlers moved into Nickajack Creek in the mid-1800s. They formed a community initially known as 'Mill Grove', and later 'Nickajack.' The creek provided ample power to run grist, saw, cotton, and woolen mills. Robert Mable, founder of Mableton, assisted in building a gristmill owned by Henry Clay Ruff in the 1850s. Mable refined his skills as a millwright under the mentorship of Robert E. Lee at Fort Pulaski
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
. Both Ruff's home and his mill remain standing in the portion of the creek running through Smyrna.
On July 4, 1864, Union and Confederate troops clashed at Nickajack Creek in the Battle of Ruff's Mill.
After the war, the Concord Manufacturing Company established a woolen mill
Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods s ...
on the stream in 1869 and made a significant economic contribution to Cobb County. The mill suffered a fire in 1889. Remnants can still be seen today.
A covered bridge, originally built c. 1848–1850, traverses the stream. It is one of the few remaining covered bridges in Georgia, and still highly active today after it was later buttressed to handle automobile traffic.
Ruff's mill, house, the Concord woolen mill, and the covered bridge are part of the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District.
References
Rivers of Georgia (U.S. state) Rivers of Cobb County, Georgia Rivers of Fulton County, Georgia {{GeorgiaUS-river-stub