Concord
Bridge/Ruff's Mill Historic District •
Cobb County, Georgia
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Preservation Plan & Mitigation |
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This project has resulted
in the stabilization of a historic mill ruins and the creation of
a regional heritage park in Cobb County, Georgia. Despite the forces
of nature and man, the surviving stone walls of the mill building
have stood for over 100 years as reminders of how late 19th century
men, women and children worked and lived, using the adjacent stream
as the power source. The remnants represent the working mill portion
of the community, while housing was located downstream.
In contrast to the mill's deterioration, the area around the mill witnessed suburban sprawl. New residential development pushed into this once rural section of west Cobb County. The accelerated population growth spurred local road improvement projects, including the East-West Connector. The road's alignment through a National Register district, the Concord Covered Bridge/Ruff's Mill Historic District, delayed the project for over a decade. The requirement to obtain a US Army Corps of Engineers permit for creek crossing activities necessitated an assessment of effects to natural and cultural resources. The Jaeger Company and other consulting firms reached a compromise that allowed the road's construction and at the same time preserved the ruins and created the heritage park. The Jaeger Company has been involved in this process for over ten years beginning with the preparation of a preservation plan in 1985 and culminating with studies for the park and the preparation of construction documents for the mill's stabilization in 1995. |