October 9, 2007

Return of chestnut tree celebrated at Prater's Mill

Annual festival is this weekend

From Staff Reports

Prater’s Mill is turning over a new leaf for its annual country fair this Saturday and Sunday.

The fair will celebrate the hoped-for comeback of the America chestnut, which was virtually wiped out by a blight in the 20th century.

Jeanette Coker, a member of the Busy Bee Quilters, designed and quilted a banner to honor the American Chestnut Foundation’s planting of blight-resistant American chestnut trees at Prater’s Mill.

“Some artists and craftsmen even incorporate the chestnut theme in their work,” Coker added. “Potters Fred and Laura Ellis make earthenware mugs with a chestnut leaf design, while John Smedley turns wooden bowls from a chestnut beam recovered from an old Virginia barn.”

Begun in 1971, the Prater’s Mill Country Fair is an outdoor festival of artists and craftsmen, talented musicians and good cooks. It is held on the picturesque grounds of historic Prater’s Mill, a working gristmill established in 1855.

“We expect around 5,000 people. We don’t charge for children, so we never know exactly how many people come,” said Judy Alderman, president of the Prater’s Mill Foundation which sponsors the fair.

Alderman says the visitors come predominately from a 100-mile radius around Prater’s Mill, but the fair typically attracts people from across the United States.

One of the highlights include an original play, “The Legend of Charles Prater,” the story of two Prater families. That play will be performed by members of the Church of God of the Union Assembly.

“This church owned Prater’s Mill back in the 1950s. They bought it from the Prater family,” said Alderman.

Other highlights include self-guided tours of the cotton gin, country store and the barn, complete with farm animals.

There are also craft demonstrations such as blacksmithing, spinning, quilting, rug hooking and hand-tufting, a cabin craft that evolved into the tufted carpet industry centered in Dalton. Peacock Alley is a clothesline display of handmade and chenille bedspreads made in North Georgia.

A new exhibit at the fair is the colorful display of Denise Newton’s vintage peacock bedspreads.

Families can enjoy canoeing on the Coahulla Creek, a leisurely walk down the nature trail and pony rides for the children. Educational exhibits include horse-drawn farm implements, working antique tractors and engines, antique cars and a little red caboose.

Continuous entertainment on stage features Appalachian-style clogging, country bands and gospel singers. Musicians jam at the Musicfest at the Shawn Chapman Tent, while dulcimer players and storytellers perform throughout the festival area.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5; children 12 and under are free.

Visitors are urged to dress casually and wear comfortable shoes. Parking is free.

Prater’s Mill is on Georgia Highway 2, 10 miles northeast of Dalton, three miles east of Varnell, and 30 miles south of Chattanooga. For more information, call (706) 694-MILL (6455), e-mail pratersmill@PratersMill.org, or visit the Web site at PratersMill.org.

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PRATER’S MILL TIME LINE

Before there was a Prater’s Mill, native people lived along Coahulla Creek and called this place “Fish Trap Shoals.”

1832

Cherokee Land Lottery land lot 231 drawn by Thomas Foster of Richmond County.

1847

First mention of a grist mill at the site.

1855

Prater’s Mill established by Benjamin Franklin Prater and T.H. Pitner with a newfangled Leffel turbine.

1861-1865

Both Union and Confederate troops occupy the mill — fortunately not at the same time.

1895

Modern Roller mills installed.

1898

Prater’s General Store built.

1949

The miller, John Hight, closes the mill.

1954

Prater family sells the farm to C.T. Pratt of “the Church of God of the Union Assembly,” who operate the mill as Whitfield County Milling Co.

1962

Mill is sold to Dalton Asphalt.

1969

Lester Terrell, the last miller, closes the mill.

1971

Prater’s Mill Country Fair is begun by volunteers to raise funds for mill restoration.

1999

Prater’s Mill is honored by the Library of Congress as a “Legacy of American Tradition.”

2005

Georgia General Assembly honors Prater’s Mill as a “Legacy of Georgia Tradition.”

FACT SHEET

EVENT NAME: Prater’s Mill Country Fair

EVENT DATES: Oct. 13-14

HOURS: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday

LOCATION: At Prater’s Mill at 500 Prater’s Mill Road/Georgia Highway 2, 10 miles northeast of Dalton (GPS coordinates N3453.720 W8455.197)

ADMISSION: $5; children under 12, free.

HISTORICAL SETTING:1855 water-powered grist mill. Self-guided tours of Prater’s Mill, Shugart Cotton Gin, 1898 Prater’s Store and the Westbrook Barn, complete with farm animals.

ARTS AND CRAFTS: Handmade Appalachian crafts and original art of 200 artists and craftsmen. Traditional crafts demonstrations of blacksmithing, rug hooking, spinning, woodcarving, quilting and hand-tufting, Dalton’s textile heritage.

ACTIVITIES: Canoeing, pony rides, nature trail, barn animals.

COUNTRY COOKING: Southern foods, barbecue, homemade ice cream, fried pies.

ENTERTAINMENT: Live music, Appalachian-style clogging, storytelling and a play “The Legend of Charles Prater.”

DIRECTIONS: Exit I-75 at Exit 341 (Tunnel Hill-Varnell). Travel north on Highway 201 for 4.5 miles to Georgia Highway 2. Turn right on Highway 2 at Varnell and continue 2.6 miles to Prater’s Mill on the left.

TELEPHONE: (706) 694-MILL (6455)

FAX: (706) 694-8413

WEB SITE: PratersMill.org

SPONSOR: The Prater’s Mill Foundation, P.O. Drawer H, Varnell, GA 30756