Star Thread Mill in Oconee County

 Completed in 1890, the mill primarily spun and carded cotton thread. The mill possessed the innovative (for the time) feature of fire sprinklers fed initially by a large cistern built (and still exists) on the hill overlooking the site. The small mill community of Barnett Shoals developed and thrived next to the mill. At its height the village had a population of 500, 150 homes, a school a church, and its own post office. The Great Depression brought about an end to the mill and the neighboring community. Most of the houses were moved to other locations in the area, and the mill was left to deteriorate. Some of the stone walls of the mill remain, as does the community's cemetery nearby.
Bill Zachmann