Ira Sanborn

Decatur County&acutes first industrialist was Ira Sanborn, a native of Concord, New Hampshire. Born in 1799, Sanborn came to Apalachicola, Florida about 1830 and later resettled in Quincy, Florida where he married Susan Woodson. In 1833 they moved to Decatur County and settled on Attapulgus Creek. Using waterpower he operated a gristmill, sawmill, tanning, cigar and shoe factories. In 1856 he opened Estahatchee Mills which made a cotton and wool fabric called kersey. Sanborn died on a business trip to Boston in 1865 and was buried in Concord. The Estahatchee Mills buildings were razed in 1870. Today only the mill races and the outline of the pond levee remain.

Erected by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission and the Decatur County Historical Society, 2001.

Plaque courtesy Lat34North.com.

Original page, with additional info, here.

Photo credit: Coinseekers.