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Ruff's Mill and Concord Covered Bridge is a historical site in
Smyrna, Georgia Smyrna is a city in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. It is located northwest of Atlanta, and is in the inner ring of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. It is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs–Alpharetta MSA, which is included in the Atlanta� ...
. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...
in 1980. The site includes a
gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...
building, the Miller's house, and a
covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...
. With Ruffʼs Mill (1840s) and the Millerʼs House (c. 1850), along with Concord Covered Bridge, exemplify the small, rural water-powered mill complexes that were common in Georgia and the South in the mid-to-late-19th century. Located on former
Cherokee 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, th ...
land, the land lots comprising this complex were won in the Georgia Gold and Land Lottery of 1832. Martin L. Ruff, prominent pioneer settler of
Cobb County Cobb County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, located in the Atlanta metropolitan area in the north central portion of the state. As of 2020 Census, the population was 766,149. Its county s ...
, and his descendants operated the wheat-and-corn grist mill through most of the century. During the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...
on July 4, 1864, the fierce Battle at Ruffʼs Mill, where the
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
routed the Confederates, made history as the only line of Confederate earthworks successfully charged and overrun during the Atlanta Campaign. Although the grist millʼs fieldstone facade was pockmarked with bullets, still visible today, the dwelling was spared from torching when it was designated to serve as a field hospital for the many wounded combatants. The Millerʼs House was constructed in a simple architectural style featuring a distinctive tall, narrow profile that is identified by preservationists as Plantation Plain. The home has been adapted over the years to the needs and changing tastes of its occupants, but the exterior today remains largely faithful to its original appearance. The terraced grounds were designed in the 1930s by the celebrated William C. Pauley, creator of Hurt Park —Atlantaʼs first professionally trained landscape architect. One-lane Concord Covered Bridge, spanning Nickajack Creek, has undergone numerous iterations since its initial construction in 1872. During a century and a half in continuous use, this landmark bridge has been rebuilt, repaired and strengthened to accommodate modern automobile traffic. This covered bridge on Concord Road is the only one remaining in Cobb County and one of only 16 left in Georgia. The bridge measures 133 feet long, 16 feet wide, and 13 feet high, with a low seven-foot entry clearance that has in recent years resulted in collisions by drivers of oversized vehicles. Two successive bridges were erected at the same location on land owned by Martin L. Ruff, Sr., a prominent early settler in this district of Cobb County, whose family members operated the adjacent grist mill. Ruffʼs neighbors, Robert Daniell of the Concord Woolen Mill and State Senator John Gann, joined with him in 1848 to build a flat-decked bridge span over stone-masonry supports, that appear to have been retained during construction of the covered bridge 24 years later. Although significantly enhanced structurally over the decades, Concord Covered Bridge looks today much as it did in the 19th century —with a heavy wood-planked floor, sides of vertical board and batten, and a cedar shake roof. The remnants of Nickajack Dam are visible upstream of the bridge.  This dam provided water power via a sluice that ran under Concord Road to the Grist Mill.  With a drop of over 20 feet from the top of the dam to the mill due to the hairpin gorge of Nickajack Creek, the Grist Mill had a strong power source with a very short distance for the water to travel.


See also

* List of covered bridges in Georgia


References

Covered bridges in Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia Land Lotteries National Register of Historic Places in Cobb County, Georgia Infrastructure completed in 1864 {{GeorgiaUS-NRHP-stub