Entry No. 8 — the Atlanta file — filed under: mill ruins
New Manchester Mill Ruins, Sweetwater Creek State Park
The roofless brick shell of an 1849 five-story cotton mill that spun yarn and osnaburg cloth used by the Confederacy. Union troops burned it in July 1864 and arrested roughly 600 women and child mill workers from the company town around it, marching them to Marietta and shipping most by train to Louisville, Kentucky and Indiana — few ever returned to Georgia.
The story
In July 1864, Union forces didn't just burn the five-story brick mill along Sweetwater Creek—they erased the entire town of New Manchester. Built in 1849, the water-powered textile complex spent fifteen years churning out yarn and coarse osnaburg cloth, material the Confederacy turned directly into military uniforms. When Union troops arrived under orders to destroy industrial infrastructure, they set the timber roof ablaze and rounded up roughly 600 mill workers, almost all of them women and children whose husbands and fathers were already off fighting.
What followed was an exile that regional history rarely highlights. Soldiers marched the women and children 16 miles north to Marietta, held them at the Georgia Military Institute, and crammed them into train cars bound for Louisville, Kentucky, and Indiana. Stranded hundreds of miles from home without money, food, or transport, very few of those workers ever made it back to Georgia. The company town vanished overnight, leaving only four stories of roofless brick shell standing along the rapids.
You might recognize the hollow window arches from District 13 scenes in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 or Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but Hollywood didn't build this gloom. You are standing at the physical site of an entire community wiped off the map in a single afternoon.
What it's like
Follow the Red Trail a half-mile downstream from the park visitor center, listening to Sweetwater Creek turn into white-water rapids as the five-story brick ruin comes into view. A tall perimeter fence keeps walk-up visitors outside the shell to protect the mid-19th-century masonry, meaning you will inspect the outer walls and arched window openings from the trail bank unless you plan ahead. To step inside the perimeter and stand within the four-story brick walls where the looms once sat, call the park office to book an official ranger-led tour—closed-toed shoes are mandatory. Hit the trail early on a weekday morning to get the riverbank to yourself before afternoon crowds arrive.
The move: Hike the trail along the creek to the ruins at dusk and stand inside the four-story brick walls where a whole company town's worth of women lived and worked until the war erased it overnight.
- 📍 Lithia Springs
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 1750 Mount Vernon Rd, Lithia Springs, GA 30122
Hours: Added 2026-07-19 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Concord Woolen Mill — Head eight miles northeast to visit another 1840s textile mill ruin that manufactured Confederate cloth before Union forces burned it during the exact same 1864 campaign.
- The Goat Farm Arts Center — For a contrast in how Atlanta handles 19th-century industrial ruins, head to West Midtown where a 12-acre mill complex was turned into working artist studios instead of a quiet state park preserve.
- Eleanor's — After hiking past 1860s brick ruins along the creek, drive into Smyrna and step through a walk-in cooler door for a drink in a dimly lit, brass-trimmed hidden bar.
Good to know
Can you walk inside the New Manchester Mill Ruins?
General trail visitors must stay outside the protective perimeter fence, but you can go inside the four-story brick shell by booking an official ranger-led mill tour through the park.
How far is the hike to the ruins from the visitor center?
The ruins sit along the Red Trail, an easy half-mile walk (one mile round-trip) from the Sweetwater Creek State Park visitor center.
What fees are required to visit?
Georgia State Parks require a $5 daily parking pass per vehicle. If you join a ranger-led tour inside the ruins fence, there is an additional $5 per-person tour fee.
What movies were filmed at the Sweetwater Creek mill ruins?
The site served as a key filming location for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: georgiatrust.org · gadnr.org · Atlas Obscura · georgiaencyclopedia.org · Official site
last checked: 2026-07-19