Habersham is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in
Habersham County
Habersham County is a County (United States), county in the Northeast Georgia, Northeast region of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 46,031. The county seat is C ...
, 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 so ...
of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
.
History
Habersham is a mill village, located in central Habersham County along the Soque River. Past variant names have included "Bert", "Habersham Mill Village", "Habersham Mills", "Porters Mill Town", and "Porters Mills".
The community was named for Colonel
Joseph Habersham
Joseph Habersham (July 28, 1751 – November 17, 1815) was an American businessman, Georgia politician, soldier in the Continental Army, and Postmaster General of the United States.
Early years
Born in Savannah, Georgia, to James Habers ...
of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War.
At its peak, almost 200 families occupied the mill village.
In 1837, Habersham Iron Works and Manufacturing Company was incorporated, when this section of the state was Indian country. Iron was minded in the near by City of Demorest and carried to the foundry that was erected by the Habersham Iron Works and Manufacturing Co,. Jarvis Van Buren, a cousin of President Martin Van Buren and a pioneer eastern railroad man, arrived in 1838 to operate the plant for its stockholders who included John C. Calhoun. In a region far from railroads necessary machines and supplies must have come by mule or ox wagon from Augusta. The iron mill operated for a few years, closed and reopened during the War Between the States when guns and cannon were urgently needed for the Confederacy.
In 1906, a group of investors from the Atlanta area purchased two woolen mills and several mill village buildings that had previously been owned by Porter Mills. This breathed a new life into the community. The investors included S. Y. Stribling, Sr., who became the force behind the beginning and early operation of Habersham Mills. His descendants continued to be involved in the operation of the mill until it closed.
The mill was converted from a woolen mill to a cotton mill, processing baled cotton into top-quality yarn that was sold to producers of fabric and lace. It operated very successfully with several hundred employees until eventually the mill and property were purchased by Russell Corporation in 1977. Russell converted the equipment into machinery to produce the synthetic fiber used to make athletic attire.
In 1999 Russell Corporation closed the mill and subdivided the property into smaller parcels, eventually selling the buildings and a total of approximately 1200 acres of prime real estate at public auction to various individuals. About a dozen of the current owners have now built new homes on the parcels they own.
Today several buildings in the community, including the mill buildings, former post-office, former general store, and former firehouse have been converted into rental Airbnb units. The entire site is closed off for public use, much to the dismay of the local Habersham-Countians.
References
3. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=15310
4. https://habersham200.com/habersham-mills/
Unincorporated communities in Habersham County, Georgia
Unincorporated communities in Georgia (U.S. state)
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