1 - Plott (Platt) Mill, Clay Co., NC
(i) A late April 2022 visit...
I stopped by the remains of this grist mill along Brasstown Creek near Warne. I was a
few weeks too late in visiting, since all the new leaves were already hiding the structure.
I haven't been able to find out much about this mill. Branson's NC Business Directories from the
1890s reference the "Platt & Co. flour and corn mill, in Warne". NC Agricultural reports from 1902,
1903 and 1904 refer to the "J.T. Plott & Bro. Flouring Mill, in Brasstown". NC Business Guides from
1900-1907 list the "Platt Flour Mills, in Warne". And a 1920 report mentions the "J.T. Plott Gristmill".
John Tyler Plott died 11 Dec 1918 in Brasstown. Estate of a "J.T. Platt" was filed in Clay Co. in 1919.
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Possible location of the mill dam
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Brasstown Creek, with mill's overgrown stone wall faintly visible on left side.
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Mill wall
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A joggle in the mill wall.
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End of mill wall at the creek.
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Woodland Stonecrop (Sedum ternatum)
The most widespread native Sedum species in eastern North America.
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(ii) An early January 2023 revisit to the mill ruins...
I had waited too long to make my spring visit; all the brush/foliage was
leafed out, obscuring the ruins. Conditions were much better today.
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Approaching the mill site along Brasstown Creek,
the mill is at first obscured by a small holly tree.
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A natural ledge crosses the creek at the mill site.
My guess is that a mill dam was constructed on top of this ledge.
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Stone wall at the mill.
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I wondered if the wall might be part of the old mill dam,
but it has a "finished" end about 8 feet from the creek.
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Midway along the stone wall is an odd joggle of about two feet.
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View back along the wall at the joggle...
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The wall is over 30 feet in length.
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Concrete support pillars
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This section of corrugated pipe, shown behind another support pillar, may
have been part of the penstock that transported water to the mill's turbine.
Without knowing what form of hydro power the mill utilized, that's just a guess...
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Another concrete support
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2 - McDonald Mill, Macon Co., NC
I was looking for the remains of this grist mill, and wound up talking with the landowner
whose property the mill once sat on. He moved to the property in 1959, and remembers
helping his grandfather tear down the old mill, which had been damaged by earlier floods.
The mill wheel and millstones had already been removed when they moved there.
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A painting of the old (long demolished) McDonald Mill.
Note the long, raised millrace leading to the waterwheel.
A friend of the landowner found an old 1916 photo of the mill, and he had this painting
by Michael Rogers made from it. I hope to eventually include a copy of that photo here.
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Not the exact same view as the painting, but the old mill was located between
the red tree and the creek. The original part of the owner's house on the rise
was built around 1880; it is thought that the mill dated to that same period.
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One of the few remaining pieces of the old mill.
This is a timber from the old millrace, now submerged in the creek.
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Dogtrot style barn with a gambrel roof, just uphill from the old mill location.
It was built by the same gentleman who built the landowner's house shown in the earlier photo.
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