Kymulga Mill and Covered Bridge - Childersburg, Alabama - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Kymulga Mill is a working gristmill built in 1864 by German contractor G.E. Morris for Confederate Army Captain William H. Forney. Captain Forney died before construction was completed, but his wife allowed Morris to finish it. Union Army soldiers burned most of the gristmills throughout the area during the Civil War, but Kymulga Mill was missed. The mill was sold four times before being purchased by the Childersburg Heritage Committee from latest owner Edward Donahoo in 1988, though it remained in active service through many of those years.

Three water powered turbines ran the four-story mill, including lights, grain elevator and millstones used for grinding grain. Two of its five sets are French buhrs, thought to be the hardest rock in the world. Kymulga Mill continues to operate to this day, though under electricity, still making corn meal with its huge millstones. The building is now a tourist attraction open for guided tours. It also serves as a gift shop and park office.

The Kymulga Covered Bridge is a wood & metal combination style covered bridge that spans Talladega Creek, located just east of Kymulga Mill within Kymulga Park. Built in 1861, the 105-foot (32 m) bridge is a Howe truss construction over a single span. Its WGCB number is 01-61-01. The Kymulga Covered Bridge is one of two 19th century covered bridges extant in Alabama still remaining at its original location. Also located in Talladega County, the Waldo Covered Bridge is the other.

The bridge once provided access to the Old Georgia Road, a Native American trade route which was used by settlers and frontiersmen who ventured the area. Eventually, farms and communities spawned along the former trail. The United States government purchased land adjacent to Kymulga Mill in 1941 for the Alabama Ordnance Works, a military installation. Settlements within the tract had to be relocated. Today, the Kymulga Covered Bridge leads park visitors to a series of nature trails north of Talladega Creek. People may still find remnants of the Old Georgia Road, as well as other traces of the past.

Street address: 7346 Grist Mill Road Childersburg, AL USA 35044 County / Borough / Parish: Talladega County, Alabama Year listed: 1976 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1850-1874, 1875-1899 Historic function: Industry/Processing/Extraction, Transportation Current function: Working Grist Mill/Historical Museum Privately owned?: yes Hours of operation: From: 9:00 AM To: 5:00 PM Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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