Joe Brown Pikes
On Sautee Creek just north of here are remains of a dam constructed as part of a grist mill owned by Edwin P. Williams. During the War Between the States, to arm the Home Guard, Gov. Joseph E. Brown had made a great number of pikes, daggers on long poles, for close fighting. This mill was converted to the manufacture of `Joe Brown Pikes.` Though church bells and old iron were given for making the pikes, iron from a forge near Clarksville was probably used too. After the War the mill was reconverted to grinding corn.
GHM 154-5 Georgia Historical Commission 1955
Plaque courtesy Lat34North.com.
Original page, with additional info, here.
Photo credit: Byron Hooks of Lat34North.com.