Today we are going South to Columbus, Georgia, located on the Chattahoochee River with Phenix City, Alabama looking back across the river at us! Columbus is such a great city because I enjoyed their Walking Trails……..The Original City Trail, The Church Square/High Uptown Trail, The Riverwalk and the Liberty Heritage Historic District. Columbus was an industry haven from 1850 until 1910 when the mills along the river brought economic wealth to the Chattahoochee (don’t you just love that word?) Valley.  In the early days, Muskogean Indians settled along one side of the river and the Cherokee along the other. The Muskogean word combining chato (rock) and huchi (marked) possibly refers to the colorful granite outcroppings along the river. So, let’s start “Uptown” first and look for doors!

Columbus had more local fellows join the Confederacy, than any other Southern community, who went to war in 1861. They are big on cannons here. Two cannons named, “The Ladies Defender” and “The Red Jackets” were used by the Columbus Guards.  Many Confederate soldiers were brought to Columbus after Atlanta fell and a Confederate hospital was established here through the end of the war. Now the cannons can be found at the Cannon Brewpub and other locations around town.

Inside the pub……..

More doors along the main street.

The folks in Columbus are quite colorful too. She was attending a market event this day!

Loved the small gardens tucked in!

The city has done a great job blending the old with the new!

and keeping old store fronts intact………

Many of the old factories and buildings are home to new local establishments! The city sale of lots began on July 10, 1828 and within 13 days 488 of the 632 lots had been sold. Six months later all the lots in this new trading town had been purchased.

One of the factories, between 14th and 15th Streets, was the largest sword maker in the Confederacy. Haimen Sword Factory made 250 swords and cutlasses (a short sword with a curved blade) a day, by 1863.

and there are big churches…….

Don’t you just love it when you get your name on a permanent sign? Seven men and seven women! I especially liked Miss  Rebecca Featherston’s name!

and there were some fancy buildings………painted pale pink………..

Columbus makes for good biking too.

We’re heading now towards the river and the mills. Cotton milling operations began on this site when William H. Young established the Eagle Mills.  The mill was distinctive because it produced over 100 varieties of cotton and woolen goods. By 1860, Columbus was considered the largest manufacturing center south of Richmond, Virginia. The manufacturing skills displayed by Columbus manufacturers led the Confederate Ordinance Department to establish the Columbus Arsenal in June, 1862 with equipment evacuated from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This arsenal made harnesses and knapsacks and replaced the Columbus Iron Works as the major producer of canons and ammunitions within the city.

The W.C. Bradley Company began with agriculture ventures and in 1919 the company acquired Coca-Cola, to keep it afloat when sugar prices soared.

And my favorite spot was Kinfolk Corner. This location was the meeting place for African-Americans and day laborers to catch rides to and from Alabama and Georgia industries.  On Saturdays, this corner would become a social scene where all could catch up on the latest news! The corner was made famous in the 1946 book, “A Member of the Wedding,” by Columbus author, Carson McCullers.

The Eagle and Phenix Mill Complex……

Well, we better take a look at that Chattahoochee rock!

And now,  I think I will rest a spell on this bench while I ponder where I shall walk next…. See you next week in my new favorite city, on another walk!

PS A lot of the Eagle and Phenix Mill Complex is now private condominiums. Lucky them. Next week you will see why!

This is just one of many photos in the Thursday Door Collection featured by Norm2.0!   Won’t you join in or take a peak at all the doors?