Then and Now: Cooper Street

One of the first data bases I went to in order to see what they had on file for Douglasville was the Library of Congress.

I happened upon a series of photographs taken during the late 1930s/early 1940s of three houses along Cooper Street.

Here are two views of 6286 Cooper Street in Douglasville, Georgia from the front:

And a view from the rear:

The pictures were taken by Michael Wyatt, a photographer working with the Historic American Buildings Survey which like most government programs is often referred to by an acronym - HABS.

The survey was first proposed by Charles E. Peterson, a landscape architect with the National Parks Service during the Great Depression.

Basically, the survey was a program to create jobs for out of work architects, draftsmen, and photographers. It was their job to survey and document America's architectural heritage, and I'm glad they did.

The survey was the beginning of a movement towards historic preservation in the United States. We also ended up with an archive of primary source material that is invaluable today for all types of research including the work I do. We also ended up with a wealth of open source documents and photographs showing how cities, towns and communities all across the United States looked at the time.

The collection is housed at the Library of Congress, but can be accessed online utilizing the link I gave above.

Today HABS is an ongoing program and is administered by the Heritage Documentation Program, a division of the National Parks Service.

Michael Wyatt documented the homes along Cooper Street because they were an "extant [or surviving (at the time)] example of worker housing constructed as part of a mill village complex."

The homes date to around 1900, and yes, they were part of the cotton mill village for THE cotton mill that burned in 2012.

I did a drive-by the other day and got a few pictures of the same house. It's a little different, but not much.

As far as I can tell the Cooper Street homes are the only entries in the early days of the HABS survey.

I'll be uploading the original views of the three homes to Facebook in an album soon.

Mr. Geer and the Granite

I know it’s easy to fuss about the downtown business district in Douglasville…..some of the buildings are crumbling away and many remain empty, but the buildings are protected.  The buildings aren’t going to disappear from one day to the next unless some act of nature occurs or without many people knowing about it first.

It’s a different story regarding our late 19th century to turn-of-the-century homes.   With the exception of the Cultural Arts Center our older homes are all privately owned and have no historic designation.   It’s a personal choice regarding National Register status, and many owners don’t want to follow the criteria to keep the status. I certainly understand this, but so many our earliest homes are gone….taken down for one reason or another over the years and replaced with other buildings or blankets of asphalt.

The homes that remain are treasures.  Many of the people I meet who live in Douglasville’s  oldest homes realize the importance their residence holds within our collective history, but so many other citizens don’t realize, know or even care.  

My hope is by educating more and more people regarding these structures –who lived in them and their contribution to Douglasville history - we can make more people begin to realize the importance of preserving and saving some of our older structures.     

One important home sits at the corner of Colquitt and Strickland.

It’s easy to drive right past it without much notice mainly because a business has taken over the former home.  There are no flowers or furniture on the porch or toys to signal someone lives there, but for over half a century the structure was a home.

This home was built by M.E. Geer during the first decade of the 20th century though today it is home to Douglas County Resource Alliance – an organization that advocates for and provides services to individuals with developmental disabilities.

Mr. Geer’s grandson, Richard Geer Morgan, has been in touch with me and has advised his grandfather was never called by his legal first name – Major.  If anything besides “Mr. Geer”, it was “M.E. Geer” or “Ernest Geer”.

Mr. Geer was born in Belton, South Carolina which is in the Anderson area.   On April 23, 1902 an issue of the Anderson Intelligencer stated….There was a reunion of the Geer family at the residence of Mrs. Mary Geer in this town, Sunday, April 20^th, at which were present her children and their families as follows:  President John M. Geer of the Easley Cotton Mills and family, D. Aaron Geer, merchant of this place,….. M. Earnest Geer merchant of this place and Professor Ben E. Geer, Furman.

According to Ben E.Geer his mother told him and his brothers that they needed to move out of Anderson since they could not make anything of themselves raising cotton.  According to Geer, “she instilled in her sons the ambition to do something,” and this ambition is evidenced by the fact that four of her sons grew up to be cotton mill presidents.

By 1907 Earnest Geer was no longer a merchant in Anderson.  Textile World Record (volume 34) advises he had taken a position as vice president and manager of the Lois Cotton Mill in Douglasville under a section titled “New Mill Construction”.   By taking the position in Douglasville Geer had followed his mother’s advice and joined what would become the family business…of sorts.   

John Mattison Geer was president of Easley Cotton Mills in Easley, South Carolina – a 68 acre complex that today is protected by National Register status.  His brother Ben took over for John in 1911 when he became ill and passed away.     Later, in 1933 Ben E. Geer returned to Furman University where he had been a professor and took over as president of the college.

Getting back to the house on Strickland Street….. it seems that while the cotton mill was being built and during the process of digging a well on the property a vein of granite was discovered.   The granite was extracted and cut into blocks.   Ernest Geer was in the process of building his home on Strickland Street and needed a foundation.   

You guessed it….the granite from the mill site became the foundation for the Geer home.   As soon as I read Mr. Geer’s grandson’s e-mail advising me of this I couldn’t wait to head over there to the house and see it for myself.   

I began snapping pictures as soon as I got out of the car, and then remembered I was on private property.

  

I walked into the office, and handed the folks there my business card and asked, “Did you know the foundation of this home came from the cotton mill property?”

I’m sure they thought I was crazy……but they were very gracious and I was happy to discover there were employees who did realize they worked in a home with some history behind it.  


They allowed me to walk around on the first floor and take pictures. 

The details of the home were fantastic from the main hall with the staircase….

A lovely window seat in one of the rooms….

and these very unique folding doors off the main hall opening up to the various rooms on each side of the house.  There were three panels and the doors looked like they could fold back on each other.

While it was very evident the home has a foundation of granite the home also has front steps fashioned from the same granite.  

Yes, it seems Ernest Geer didn’t really have a choice regarding his profession and found himself in Douglasville where he would manage our cotton mill into the 1930s, but unfortunately, the Depression was too much and eventually the mill was sold to what would become a string of owners through the 1970s.   

  

Mr. Geer’s grandson tells me the people of Douglasville had confidence in his grandfather, however.   He stayed on in town raising his family and even served as a Justice of the Peace following World War II.

I'm going to keep M. Ernest Geer's name on my mind as I continue to research Douglas County history including Sentinel and county records research.   I'm sure I'll be writing about him again real soon!

More Cotton Mill Pictures

I'm very grateful to Kari Osborne for sending me these images of the cotton mill.   They were taken a couple of years ago and include images of the interior.   I'm including a few here.....and the entire set on the "Every Now and Then" Facebook page.  

You can "like" the Facebook page and see updates, pictures and links roll across your Facebook wall by clicking the "like" button found on the left sidebar of this blog. 

As always if you need to see a closer view of the image you can click on it to isolate it on a page...then hit your "back" button to return to this post.  

Also.....these pictures along with everything else on this website is copyrighted.....if you need a copy of something send me an email.   If you quote any of my text please reference my name, the website name and/or the weblink.   Otherwise....you are breaking the law.

This first image is the east side of the building.

This is the backside of the building taken from the west side.  Notice the zig-zag walls.   Years ago the windows were removed and bricked in, but you can make out where they were.   High windows were key at the turn of the century to give mill workers enough light to do their jobs.....there was no electricity at first.

Looking at this interior shot I can understand why those who wandered around inside over the years told me it was vast and creepy.....

 This is taken on the front side of the building....more zig-zag walls.

Love this shot of Kari's.....You can see the outbuildings and the water tower.   Today the water tower is all that remains.

Cotton Mill Fire: May 12, 2012

The long neglected and derelict cotton mill building in Douglasville, Georgia burned to the ground in the early morning hours of Saturday, May 12, 2012.   

Readers have been very generous to send me pictures of the inferno.    Here are a few "Stefanie" forward to me.  There are several images in this set....I posted a few here.   To see the rest please join the Facebook page for this blog  at this link.    

Joining the Facebook page also helps you to keep up with new additions to this site.  

You can read all of my posts regarding the historic cotton mill by following this link.   Simply scroll down to see all of the posts or click the words "cotton mill" over in the Site Index to your right.  

Mother's Day, the Mill, and Memories

One of the hardest things I have ever done…and there have been many hard things… was walking away from the hospital room where my mother lay dying.  I’d been at her bedside alone with her all day.  I had been grateful for the time I could spend with her just she and I, but once my sister arrived I felt she needed her time alone with mom….so I made ready to leave. 

Still when I told Mother I would see her later our eyes met and she smiled in that little knowing way she had.  We knew we would not see each other for a long, long time….but we didn’t acknowledge it….being strong for each other.  What I really wanted to do was jump up on the bed next to her tiny, frail frame, wrap my arms around her and demand that she stay, but I didn’t…..and it wouldn’t have mattered at all. 

My selfish demand wouldn’t have changed anything.   Mother had a date to keep with my memories.

I told her I loved her and she told me she loved me, and I walked out.

   

Mother died early the next morning as my sister brushed her hair.

Things change.

People pass.

Buildings burn….

But the memories remain.

Sometimes we don’t want that exchange.   It doesn’t seem fair exchanging memories for the real thing or for the real experience, but it happens whether we want it to or not.

So, our mill is gone, but if we are really honest with ourselves it was gone when the mill ceased to operate and the doors were padlocked…..it ceased to exist when the first awning sagged….it ceased to exist when the fence surrounding the property developed a patina of rust.

Our mill ceased to exist when Inman Park Properties purchased it and wound it up in their little scheme to allow dozens of properties across the Atlanta area to be demolished by neglect as I wrote in August over at Douglasville Patch.

As I’ve discussed before the property was doomed once Inman Park Properties purchased it, and once the city failed to hold their feet to the fire regarding code violations as well.  The property was doomed when the Douglasville Historic Preservation Commission was pressed  to remove the mill from a list regarding historic designation.    As I mentioned in my article in August…..sources indicated to me the City Council pressed the commission to remove the [historic designation] a couple of years ago after being convinced by a developer that the designation limited development options…and because no one held the property owner‘s feet to the fire regarding code violations the minute the property began to slide down into despair we ended up with a derelict eyesore.

However…..while those who control historic properties ultimately have the final say memories don’t fade.   Memories don’t die.  Memories don’t rust away or cave in, and they certainly don’t perish in a fiery stroke that wiped the mill away Saturday night. 

In fact, if you stop and think about it fire is often used to refine things…..to make things stronger…..even our memories.

 

I was heartened Saturday morning to see so many Douglas County citizens being interviewed on television regarding the mill….as well as comments I saw on Facebook regarding the building’s significance to their lives.   Our people built the mill, our people worked at the mill…..they met and married because of the mill and they supported their families as well as Douglas County’s economy.

Most citizens in Douglas County had a connection to that building in some way or another.

 You can neglect a property into despair….you can formally decide a property has no historical value, but you can’t erase the memory or the connections citizens have to the property.  Many spoke of grandparents and parents who worked at the mill.  Some mentioned the traveling ball team.  I’ve heard they were considered to be the best traveling ball team in the state.   I’ve heard stories of young adults who walked Fairburn Road daily to deliver a dinner pail to their parent working away in the mill.   All great memories to hold onto….even though the building itself was in dire need of a meeting with a wrecking ball. 

I was up early Saturday morning around 1 a.m. when the Douglasville Police posted a picture of the fire on their Twitter account which also posts to Facebook.   I immediately posted something about it on my wall and immediately assumed a group of kids had probably gotten inside the fence and a fire had either gotten out of control or….it had been set deliberately in some macabre pretense of having fun.  

A young man….a neighbor of mine named Tyler Rowan instantly commented on my post and his words regarding the mill gave me instant pause.   Now, I’m not that naive.  I know that over the years photographers have gotten in the mill and kids had gotten in as well….and not necessarily to take pictures, but Tyler gave me a different perspective regarding the fence jumpers when he told me, “I can’t tell you how many nights we spent just exploring and enjoying that place.   So much history.  The place was stuck in time.   There were fire extinguishers on the ground still in place from where they were left when the place caught fire in the 80s.   Dated papers scattered around.   Not to mention the top of the water tower had to be one of the best views in Douglas County.  You could see Atlanta, Downtown Douglasville, Hiram, and a little of Villa Rica.”

I expressed to Tyler my own desire to have explored the mill, but I knew that after the last round of tornados through the middle of town the building was just too unstable.   I had only explored on the correct side of the fence with my camera’s zoom lens.

 

Tyler continued……and his point really hit home with me.    He said, “I will legitimately miss the mill...  They wouldn’t preserve it, so we had to admire it and enjoy it for ourselves risking a slap on the wrist. The mill was something to be proud of.  It was such a unique and vast structure.

I’d been there many a night with either myself or just a couple of others, and it was pretty creepy.  The office section had a long dark hallway with about 40 rooms to the end, so shining a flashlight down to the end was almost nerve racking.  And yes, just because the City of Douglasville wouldn’t cowboy up years ago and recognize it as a historical building, it didn’t mean the building didn’t have historical value to us.  I feel lucky enough that we had something like that so close to us…and so did many others my age.  I just wish I had taken more pictures.  I never really thought that it would be totally gone one day.

We love and admire people in our lives. We love and admire various things. Those people...those things...all have deep rooted meaning for us in so many various ways. Yet, we are so busy loving and admiring that when the time comes to exchange those people and those things for memories...it can be a very defining moment.

The old mill burning to the ground is one such moment for the City of Douglasville and for the citizens of Douglas County as a whole.

Now comes the job of gathering the memories...and learning from the mistake of taking things for granted.

A Primer Regarding Brownfields

Word of warning - this is not my typical column, but it does fall into the realm of history since so many historical properties are also classified as brownfields because of their past use.

A brownfield isn't what you might think at first. They don't necessarily refer to fields, and they aren't necessarily brown, but brownfields do concern real estate.

The first instance of the term "brownfield" being used in any way was during a U.S. congressional hearing in June, 1992. That year also saw the first detailed policy analysis regarding brownfields by the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission for the Cleveland Ohio area. Cuyahoga's Sunar Houseman project was the first brownfield pilot project in 1992. The Sunar Houseman focused on redeveloping an industrial plant that had been in business since 1913. Once the project was completed the site became home to several businesses, created 81 new jobs and generated more than one million in annual revenue.

One of the largest brownfield sites in the United States that has been successfully redeveloped is Atlantic Station in Atlanta. The site originally saw light industry when the Atlanta Hoop Co. produced cotton bale ties and barrel hoops as early as 1901 and then more heavy industrial use and contamination by Atlantic Steel. The EPA awarded the Atlantic Station project their Phoenix Award as the Best National Brownfield Redevelopment in 2004.

The Environmental Protection Agency defines a brownfield site as "real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence of hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant." Today, the National Brownfield Association estimates between 400,000 and 1 million properties across the United States might qualify as a brownfield site. They estimate up to $2 trillion in real estate is undervalued because of contamination.

Typical contaminants include hydrocarbon spillages, solvents, pesticides, heavy metals such as lead based paints and asbestos. Brownfields also include properties that are underutilized for various socioeconomic reasons such as abandonment, obsolescence, tax delinquency and/or blight.

In 2002, Congress passed a bill to put an end to excessive regulations and litigations many entrepreneurs incur when revitalizing dilapidated fields called the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act.

The act provides for funds to assess and clean up brownfields. Financial incentives and regulatory requirements are included in other related laws and regulations.

Per the EPA, the Brownfield Program has increased residential property values by 2 percent to 3 percent when nearby brownfields are addressed, leveraged 72,434 jobs nationwide, and promotes area-wide planning.

Think about sites that have been abandoned or underused industrial and commercial facilities that might be available for reuse. Think about old textile mills, industrial plants, gas stations, drycleaners, places that look like illegal dumping grounds, junkyards and other abandoned commercial or industrial properties. The key to remember is sites do not have to be identified. They only have to have the potential of meeting the brownfield descriptors to be included.

So, do you think we might have a few brownfield sites in Douglasville?

Well, of course we do!

I wasn't surprised at all when I received a notice from the city regarding a community meeting to discuss their brownfield program last week.

The notice I received from the city advised, "Douglasville has many brownfields that offer an opportunity for redevelopment. The city is working on a strategy to redevelop these properties. The first step in that strategy is to apply for grant funding from the EPA to assess these properties and determine if contamination is indeed present. The grant application is being prepared and will be submitted to the EPA for consideration in November, 2011."

The EPA will announce which communities will receive the grant money during the Spring or
Summer of 2012.

The meeting attended was led by Joe Morici, a consultant with CTC Public Benefit Corporation. The City of Douglasville is using CTC to assist them with the grant application process. CTC specializes in EPA brownfield grants and has handled 50 such grants since the program began in the mid 1990s. You can view their online brochure here.

The application is for up to $200,000 regarding hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants and up to $200,000 regarding petroleum contaminants. The process is very competitive, and I've been told community involvement is the main component the EPA looks for when reviewing applications.

Initially the City is looking at the Lois Cotton Mill site and the County Jail that will be vacated soon as locations to include with the application. Other properties can be included as well, and suggestions from citizens would be most appreciated.

As many of you know the cotton mill site is most certainly on my radar as a missed and ignored historic site for our city. In my view it is the most historically significant location in the City of Douglasville. As I stated in August in my column titled Demolition by Neglect, "It's a shame that a unique and proud cotton mill with such a rich history ended up as a sad and lonely piece of Douglasville's history." I also gave a complete historical background regarding the mill and it's unique Charles Praray design here. 

The mill site was sold on the courthouse steps in September. The City of Douglasville now retains control of the property, and I strongly agree that including the mill property on the EPA grant application is the best course of action to move forward.

While contamination and deterioration have made the structure of the mill impossible to save it is still my fervent hope that the unique and historic Praray wall -  or just a section of it - that is still standing can be saved in some way and not merely ground up to serve as filler for the road bed for the Highway 92 realignment project as some officials have suggested.

Several dozen of you recommended my original column regarding the tragedy of the mill site on Facebook, some of you commented here at Patch, and I know the column inspired many of you to email me and others regarding the situation. Please get the word out regarding the brownfield application. The application process isn't just about the mill property, but is about identifying other sites within the City of Douglasville that might fit the descriptors I  provided above.

So, do you want to help shape Douglasville's redevelopment? Do you want to have input in transforming abandoned or underutilized property into new uses that benefit the community?

There are several things you can do to help. You can attend future community meetings, voice your concerns, ask questions, spread the news, and participate in the redevelopment plan once it's in place.

For more information please contact Marcia Hampton, community and downtown services director for the City of Douglasville, at 678-715-6091.

This post first appeared at Douglasville Patch October 17, 2011.

Demolition By Neglect

This past week I performed a little experiment. I threw the word "history" out to various people - friends, waitresses, store clerks, even a couple of surprised strangers - and asked them to tell me what immediately popped into their minds.

Various words were thrown back to me - events, dates, maps, wars, battles - and the list goes on.

None of the responses really surprised me, but there are other words to parallel with the word history. Words like preservation, remember, and trust come to mind and unfortunately, the words failure, greed, demolish, surrender, neglect, and ignore are on the flipside as I continue examining the winding path of history our cotton mill in Douglasville has taken.

I shared the story last week regarding how Douglasville ended up with the cotton mill and how important the mill was to our economic health over most of the last century. You can see my column form last week here.

Now I want to share the rest of the story regarding how history can be neglected and forgotten by the very people we trust to preserve it. Sometimes in their attempts to improve the lives of citizens in the here and now they actually betray the trust handed to them by citizens who lived their lives a long time ago. They also end up cheating future generations regarding our historical records.

History can also be used by folks who are just looking for easy outs in business in order to leverage property or satisfy some misguided need to collect historic properties, and then allow them to die a slow death of neglect for some strange reason I simply cannot fathom.

It's a shame that a unique and proud cotton mill with such a rich history ended up as a sad and lonely piece of Douglasville history slated to be sold on the courthouse steps in just a few days.

Construction for the mill began in 1897 and over the years mill housing was built for employees. The mill village also included a company store, athletic fields, and churches. In 1934, the mill was involved in the Textile Worker's Strike of 1934, the larges labor strike in the history of the United States, with over 44,000 mill workers across Georgia on strike regarding various issues of discrimination and evictions. In 1953, sources indicate the cotton mill was Douglasville's largest employer with 3,000 workers or one-fourth of the country's population.

It was during the late 1990s that the Douglasville Historic Preservation Commission and Douglasville City government became involved with the cotton mill property due to a proposed widening project for Bankhead Highway that is still on hold to this day. In case you aren't aware when the Georgia Department of Transportation or GDOT wants to make any changes regarding our roads they have to conduct various studies including one that determines how any historic sites in the proposed area will be impacted by the road changes.

At first all GDOT did was a quick assessment referred to in a later document as a "windshield survey" meaning they didn't even get out of the car. An article published in the Cultural Resource Management magazine presented by the National Parks Service indicates, "Local historians were unaware of the patented design for the mill in...Douglasville, Georgia," and since the windows had been bricked in "the mill in Douglasville was deceptive in appearance causing it to be overlooked [initially] in a [GDOT] survey of historic resources."

On November 13, 1997, the United States Department of the Interior issued a letter to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division noting GDOT had not designated the cotton mill as historic and sited their own research DID indicate the structure had historic value even though it had been "altered on the exterior." The letter further stated, "This mill IS certainly worthy of additional examinations."

Finally, on January 30, 1998 officials with GDOT, the city of Douglasville, as well as officials from the Georgia Historic Preservation Division met and all were in agreement the cotton mill site was eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C for its distinctive method of construction.

Now, here is where I need to make a clarification. The agreement between all of the government entities regarding historic status does not mean the property was automatically protected. Anyone can fill out the paperwork and nominate a site for National Register status, but the owner of the property can turn it down.

Yes, it can't be forgotten that during all of the to and fro between all of the governmental agencies and officials the mill property was privately owned. The wrangling over historical status merely had to do with the GDOT project and the hoops they are required to jump through when trying to get a project off the ground. During the initial wrangling over historic status the mill property was owned by Kenneth Farmer and then in August, 1999 the property was transferred to Fellowship Christian Center, Inc.

If the Bankhead widening project had happened the way it was initially proposed the outside wall of the mill would have had to be removed if not the entire structure, so of course the entire structure had to be fully examined. The widening project could have been very beneficial to the property owner as a selling point, but historical status could hinder GDOT with their plans as they were.

Eight months prior to Fellowship Christian taking over the property the Douglasville Historic Preservation Commission prepared a document titled "Report for Nomination: Proposal for Historic Designation Georgia Western Cotton Mill" containing the information noted above. In fact, I've been told the cotton mill was one of the first properties the commission identified formally as a historic site.

Sadly though, I have been advised the City Council pressed the commission to remove the listing a couple of years ago after being convinced by a developer that the historic designation limited development options. Rather than take steps to prevent deterioration an market the property as an asset, the mayor and council for all intents and purposes promoted its demise.

An undated letter from the City of Douglasville to the Douglasville Historic Preservation Commission requests the commission to remove the cotton mill property from the local historic registry. The letter advises "the buildings are in a state of disrepair and it is unlikely they can be returned to a state of historic significance."

I have a problem with that. Historical significance does NOT disappear simply because a site is not in pristine condition.

The letter goes on to state, "The buildings are unsafe to occupy and are a hazard to the community. We need to pursue condemnation procedures and are unable to do so due to its historic affiliation."

First, it bothers me that the letter is not dated. Second, it bothers me that if condemnation was on the city's mind why has the property not been condemned? It seems to me the "historical status" of the property was the hindrance.

Inman Park Properties took ownership of the mill property in 2001, and here is where the ride gets even bumpier.

Let me introduce you to Jeff Notrica, the person at the helm of Inman Park Properties, hereafter referred to as IPP. Do a quick look across the web and you can quickly see several adjectives that describe Notrica - businessman, property developer, landlord, deadbeat, slumlord, scum of the earth, innkeeper, crook, and hoarder.

Under the guise of IPP and various other LLC businesses Notrica spent the 1990s and the first few years of the last decade buying up property after property in Atlanta, Birmingham, and Savannah.

As I continued with my research I noticed a patter. The majority of the properties IPP acquired were interesting or significant in some way. IPP acquired the properties and generally did nothing to improve them even if they had tenants. Apparently IPP charged high rents, but the buildings were in poor shape and remained that way so they could be tax write-offs. In some cases IPP even told prospective tenants THEY had to pay for property upgrades. Then of course, IPP would take out mortgages on each property for up to four times the actual value of the property. The borrowed money would fund the purchase of more properties, and the process would begin anew.

For example, IPP bought the Gordon School property in the East Atlanta Village for $200,000 and then placed more than $4 million in debt against it. Improvements? No, at one point there were trees growing on the second floor of the structure.

There was also a small parking lot in IPP's portfolio bought for $127,000, but was quickly mortgaged for $600,000. Guess there was yet another historic property for IPP to snap up.

The whole business model (if you really want to call it that) harkens to one of those late night infomercials where the announcer repeatedly tells you, "Yes! You too can get rich quick in real estate!"

For our own cotton mill property was purchased by IPP for $195,000 in 2001. In November, 2004 a mortgage was issued from Omni Bank (it has since been assigned to another company) for $1.2 million dollars. Was the money used to improve the mill property? No. You can take a look at my pictures here and determine for yourself.

Of course, during the time IPP has owned the cotton mill property the property taxes have run behind. The last delinquency is for 2008, 2009, and 2010 leading to a sheriff's sale.

The now defunct website for IPP stated the company motto was "Preserving the future by saving the past."

Really?

Sad.

This link discusses IPP's holdings in the East Atlanta Village explaining how many of them were in a state of neglect including huge piles of garbage and tires. This article details IPP's ownership of the Kreigshaber House which you might recognize by the name  Wrecking Bar (now saved by someone else and open), and The Clermont (the lounge is still open of this writing), as well as other very historic Atlanta properties.

This Birmingham News article from 2009 details how IPP began buying up historical properties in Birmingham tying up as much as $10 million with at least 11 properties that were allowed to decay.

More information regarding IPP's tax delinquencies and claims to have invested millions of dollars to improve his holdings can be found here, here, and here.

Of course, foreclosures began to plague IPP around 2008 and 2009, and I would imagine they are continuing to this day. While the current economic downtown did hurt Notrica and IPP, his past history clearly shows today's  commercial real estate climate is not the cause of what can only be termed "a mess."

And through this whole thing one has to wonder where the cities and counties are? Why are they not enforcing their regulations and accountability regarding code enforcement? What about the tax delinquencies?

Yes, there are several reasons why I'd like to kick Notrica, but in an attempt to be fair I would like to mention that at one point he was appointed to the board of The Atlanta Preservation Center. It would seem, however, it was a move by the group's leader just to keep IPP/Notrica close, and it was a very controversial issue among group members.

In 2003, the preservation group placed the Trust Company Bank at Monroe Drive and Fire Station No. 11 on the "Most Endangered Historic Places" list. Both were owned by IPP/Notrica and magically the two historic spots were turned around earning Notrica awards an accolades here. This link also discusses a success with properties in Little Five Points where Front Page News and Tiuana Garage are located.

And today? Notrica lives in Savannah where he promotes himself as an innkeeper at the Dresser Palmer House. The website advises, "Don't be surprised to see him checking you in when you arrive or fixing drinks at the evening social." The bio only mentions he owned a small inn in Atlanta. There isn't a single word about his status as a land developer.

While I do enjoy historic inns somehow I don't see myself every allowing Notrica to pour me a drink.

This article first appeared at Douglasville Patch in August, 2011.

 

Cotton Mill Ends the Doldrums

Over the past three weeks I've taken a look at the New South philosophy that our town fathers adhered to as they developed Douglasville. I first focused on the railroad here and here, and last week I provided a few details about Joseph S. James, Douglasville's first mayor, and the number one cheerleader for New South ideals, here.

The Georgia General Assembly approved Douglasville as our county seat about the same time New South ideals were gaining momentum across the South, so business and political leaders had a unique opportunity to set up each fact of the town to fit the New South image.

The main commercial district was positioned to run parallel along the railroad track so that it could be seen by travelers who might be looking to move to a vibrant city. The railroad was also in close proximity for moving and receiving freight.

Within a few years buildings went from being wooden structures to permanent brick buildings with all types of architectural elements that were innovative and pleasing to the eye not to mention promoting productivity and wealth. Stephanie Ayleworth, Douglasville's Main Street Manager has conducted exhaustive research into the city's New South beginnings and advises Douglasville had sixty-two buildings in 1895 and by 1911 that number had jumped to eighty-four.

So, the town fathers had a growing downtown commercial district and a railroad. The next ingredient they needed was a way to revive the devastated economy following the Civil War and Reconstruction. It is only natural they looked to the cotton fields because they knew cotton was king.

Cotton is king!!!

Isn't that what every student learns about the South as they advance through each level of American History?

Don't worry. I'm certainly not going to lead you down a path pretending some other commodity was on the throne. I'm a history teacher for goodness sake! Prior to the Civil War cotton was the major ingredient to the southern economy.

Cotton was king, but what isn't taught generally is cotton continued to be king and drove the economy for some time. Usually, most of the content that is taught after the Civil War leaves cotton behind overshadowing it with events involving Reconstruction, and moving on to into the Gilded Age. The importance of cotton is rarely mentioned in postbellum studies unless you are sitting in an eighth grade Georgia history classroom with a very content focused educator or you are in an upper level college course.

Just because the Thirteenth Amendment emancipated the slave that doesn't mean the cotton fields went fallow. In fact, one of the tenants of the New South philosophy had everything to do with cotton and reviving the southern economy.

It wasn't just about getting cotton production up. The New South philosophy was all about getting the cotton fields to the cotton mills.

Douglasville's leaders knew they had to have a cotton mill and set about raising the money. In fact, Douglasville wasn't alone in their quest for a cotton mill. Every little town across Georgia and across the South were vying to build their own mill mainly through the investments of Northern manufacturers, but it was also key for citizens of the town to invest in building a mill.

In her history of Douglas County, Fannie Mae Davis writes the town leaders called a meeting to appeal to local citizens to get Douglasville out of what they identified as "the doldrums". They discussed how to best develop the town, and committees were formed to pursue a bank, a hotel, and a cotton mill. Mrs. Davis quotes an article in The Atlanta Constitution describing how several people gave short talks. Joseph S. James concluded with an appeal to the people to open their hearts and purses in giving. One of the items everyone agreed upon at the meeting was a town slogan proclaiming, "People make the town!"

Have you ever heard the saying, "Location, location, location"? If a postbellum town was seeking to build a cotton mill the location was very important. The mill had to be close to the railroad, and it had to be near cotton warehouses.

Back in the early days of Douglasville, Church Street was known as Factory Street per Fannie Mae Davis's county history as well as early insurance maps. By the very name the town fathers hoped Factory Street would indicate to investors that the town recognized industry was important, and it was welcome.

The strategy worked because Douglasville's first cotton mill was Eden Park Mill, and it was located along Factory Street. An article published in The Atlanta Constitution indicates the capital needed to build the factory was $50,000. The majority of the stock was held by a northern investor named Simon Baer and Joseph S. James, Douglasville's first mayor and prime New South booster. The paper also advised, "about 4,000 spindles were operated and more than 100 employees secured work at the mill."

Unfortunately, the Eden Park Mill was consumed by fire around midnight on April 7, 1895, and it was a total loss.The design of the mill turned out to be the culprit.The furnace had been placed directly beneath the spinning rooms and a spark from an engine caused the fire.

The pride of Douglasville was gone.

So, James and his Yankee partner, Baer set about to build another mill. This time they chose a location one-half mile east of the central business district on a parcel of land then totaling fifty acres. This location was actually better since it was parallel to the railroad just like the central business district.

You've seen it.

You've driven past it.

It's still there.

It's the white brick abandoned and dilapidated building along U.S. 78/Bankhead Highway between Courtland and Hagin Streets.

Within two years following the New Eden fire, The New South, a paper published in Douglasville announced a contract for the construction of the Georgia Western Cotton Mill. Later the mill would be known as the New Century Cotton Mill and then the Lois Cotton Mill, named for one of Joseph S. James' daughters. The anticipated completion date for the building was January 1, 1898.

The Cawhern Building Company out of Atlanta would oversee the construction using local labor and bricks that were created right here in Douglas County. The total cost for the building and equipment would be approximately $430,000 and James and Baer anticipated 450 employees.

It would be a major force in the economy of Douglasville and Douglas County as area farmers would have a local source to purchase their cotton and to feed the 20,000 spindles the mill would spin.

The Atlanta Constitution finally announced on November 15,1908 the Douglasville mill had begun operating the day before. It had been ten years since the construction had been announced.

There were several reasons for this. First, James and Baer had not received an insurance settlement for the Eden Park fire. Second, business that supplied the Eden Park machinery had filed a law suit in 1897 indicating they had not been paid. James held off the creditors for awhile by claiming the shipment of equipment had never arrived.

Then to make matters even more complicated Simon Baer severed his business relationship with James. It wasn't until 1907 that James was able to secure a primary investor for the second mill by joining ranks with a South Carolina mill owner by the name of M.E. Geer per an article in The Atlanta Constitution dated October, 1907.

As far as cotton mills built during the New South time period go the mill in Douglasville was and still is very unique. It is only one of five mills built in the South using Charles Praray's innovative design for mills patented under the name "Praray Improved Construction for Mills" and is only one of two where the tale-tell zigzag walls are still standing.

Ayleworth's research indicates according to the patent, "Praray's striking design is best identified by the zigzag appearance of the exterior walls and windows. The mill is an excellent example of Northern architecture adapting to the New South economy. The unique architecture of the mill was a cost saving device.

"The mill was built on two separate foundations. The inner foundation housed the equipment, while the outer foundation and walls were for the vast window casings. This construction technique made the walls cheaper to construct and, in case of fire, they could be more easily removed and less costly to replace. The walls were entirely free from strain. the outer walls allowed for more windows, thus allowing more light and ventilation and facilitating longer hours of operation."

Over the years the windows were removed and bricked over as air conditioning and electric lighting was improved.

By the early 20th century, Douglasville had evolved into a modern town prophesied by New South visionaries such as Henry Grady per Fannie Mae Davis mainly due to the New Century Cotton Mill, and when it opened the mill became the greatest economic success in the history of Douglasville.

Sadly, the 104 year old structure stands abandoned, yet it remains a symbol of Douglasville's pioneering father's vision made manifest per Ayleworth, and I would have to agree with her.

Unfortunately, its unique design gives the building a deceptively modern appearance. This caused the mill to be overlooked for National Register status - a fact I will address in a future column.