Apalache Mill

Front: This site was the location of active mill operations from 1837-2007. The core of the current mill building was completed in 1888, with subsequent additions enlarging the complex as operations expanded. The most notable of these came in 1903, just after Lewis Parker acquired the mill. The 1903 addition was designed by J.E. Sirrine and added 400 looms and 17,000 spindles. By 1907 Apalache Mill employed 300 workers who ran 500 looms and 20,000 spindles. Reverse: The adjacent dam and mill pond were completed in 1904 and represented an important shift in how the mill was powered. The energy generated by the falling water as it dropped 40 feet from the mill pond to the South Tyger River below was harnessed by a 2,300 volt water wheel-driven generator and 75 H.P. induction motor. These, in turn, drove a series of belts and pulleys that powered mill equipment. Apalache Mill was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.