By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
NOV. 26, 2024 | The question came from Roy Maxwell of Dacula: “Who knows the history of Paper Mill Road in Lawrenceville? I have always assumed it was named for an ancient paper mill, but those take a lot of water, and there is no major stream in the area.”
He continues: “This used to be a sleepy little road with no traffic, but that has changed with GPS routing and a lot of people have discovered it as a way around the congestion on Winder Highway out to Sweetgum Road. Every time I take it, I wonder, ‘Where was the paper mill?’ Or is there some other history behind the name?”
Paper Mill Road runs 1.9 miles in Lawrenceville to Simonton Road, from U.S. Highway 29 (Georgia Highway 8), which is East Crogan Street near the start of Scenic Highway.
We also wondered about this road’s name, but never took the time to find out. We contacted our friends at the Gwinnett Historical Society, thinking they would be able to tell us, and we were right. Frances Johnson, who is the Archivist at the Society, got right on it.
The short answer is that it was on the left headed away from Lawrenceville, at a creek.
Frances had much more information. “It was on Shoal Creek,” Frances said, “Which is a tributary of Alcovy River. It was at a site called Moore’s Grist Mill.”
It was particularly interesting where she found this information. At the Historic Courthouse, where the Gwinnett Historical Society has offices, there is a large map on the wall, and someone has scrolled in pencil the site of the paper mill at Moore’s Grist Mill. There’s also the year “1820” written on the map, but she did not know if this was when the paper mill was in operation.
Frances also found out that it was a Thomas Moore whom the mill is named for, and he came to Gwinnett from Burke County, Ga, in the 1820 land lottery. Furthermore, she found that he had owned eight slaves.
There is some indication about a Civil War battle at the mill, but that is not certain. Most information about the Civil War says that no big battles, but mainly skirmishes, were fought in Gwinnett. There is no further detail of a battle around Moore’s Mill in Gwinnett. However, on July 9, 1864, a historical marker was placed at Moore’s Mill in Atlanta where a battle was fought in the Civil War. Perhaps someone confused the names and assumed a Gwinnett battle at Moore’s Mill. We suggest there was no battle at Moore’s Mill in Gwinnett, since there is no evidence.
What kind of paper was made there? We don’t know that, either,.
Thanks, for asking your question, Roy Maxwell! Turns out, we all learned a little.
Turner
Ted Turner was featured in an article by Maria Saporta. To read it, click this link. It’s entitled:” Ted Turner’s dedication to world peace and saving the earth is as critical now as ever.”
He’s age 86 now. He is one of our most successful Georgians in so many ways. And he always seemed to know it. He’s been quoted as saying: “If I only had a little humility, I’d be perfect!”
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