George Parker Swift I
George Parker Swift, I, pioneer cotton manufacturer of Georgia, was born Sept. 1, 1815, in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. He moved to Georgia in the early 1840´s and started the Tribune Mills at Wynmanville, Upson County, first making cotton thread and yarn, then expanding into cotton weaving. Colonel Swift moved to Columbus in 1865 and in 1867 founded the Muscogee Mills, now the Muscogee Manufacturing Company which has been in continuous operation by the same family owners and has grown to be one of the largest manufacturers of cotton towels and tickings in the world. Erected by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission and the Columbus Consolidated Government, 2001
Plaque courtesy Lat34North.com.
Original page, with additional info, here.
Photo credit: Byron Hooks of Lat34North.com.