The Village, the Pits, and the Dumps - Decatur County, GA
N 30° 43.612 W 084° 25.973
16R E 745807 N 3402147
This historical marker is located on U.S. Highway 27 about 3 1/2 miles southwest of Attapulgus, Georgia, in the old Amsterdam Community.
Waymark Code: WMFD0Y
Location: Georgia, United States
Date Posted: 09/30/2012
Views: 6
The marker reads:
SIDE 1: THE VILLAGE, THE PITS, AND THE DUMPS
"The village," located one mile south, was a community for workers of the Attapulgus Clay Co. featuring 20 houses, a telephone, and a company store. It stood from 1930-1955. Those who lived there worked 12 hrs. daily mining a type of fuller's earth called Attapulgite, occurring only in this area. The site had an electric dragline, the largest in the U.S. in 1933, and a 3,000 sq. ft. control house. A 9 cubic yd. bucket removed the 100 ft. overburden. Small steam engines dug and loaded ore into cars on a narrow gauge railroad which moved it to the plant in Attapulgus, Georgia.
Erected by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission and Decatur Co. Historical & Genealogical Society, 2012
SIDE 2: THE VILLAGE, THE PITS, AND THE DUMPS
The rail engine made a quaint musical sound. "The dumps," overburden piles as high as 100 ft. stood sentinel over the excavations, rambling open "pits," 150 ft. wide and 100 ft. deep, and 2 1/2 miles long. Sadly, in 1955, all houses were removed to access the last profitable vein of valuable clay in this area, and mining was moved on to other locations. Fuller's earth has been used for ages to filter impurities from oil and in fulling, a process to remove oil in wood.
Erected by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission and Decatur County Historical & Genealogical Society, 2012
Type of Marker: Highway
Date: 2012
Sponsor: Historic Chattahoochee Commission and Decatur County Historical & Genealogical Society
Marker #: Not listed
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