Empire Mills Historical
Marker
Located at 800 Front Avenue, Columbus, Ga.
(text)
EMPIRE MILLS
G.W. Woodruff began grist
operations in 1861 on this site previously occupied in 1847 by
E.T. Taylor Cotton Gin Company and in 1841 by William Waters
Gerrard's cotton warehouse. Empire Mills ran night and day during
the Civil War and was spared in 1865 when Union Troops burned
all non-food-producing industry in the city. By 1887 it was the
largest meal and flour mill in the South, operating 36 roller
mills with a capacity of 600 barrels of flour per day. Empire
also produced Graham flour, bran, grits, and cornmeal -- all
ground on eight runs of horizontal stones, some of which are
displayed on this site.
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