Home > Georgia > Fort Gordon > Silas C. Read Sawmill, Outlet of Maxwell Lake near North Range Road, Fort Gordon, Richmond County, GA
Data Pages
Photo Caption Pages
Item Title
LocationOutlet of Maxwell Lake near North Range Road,
Fort Gordon, GA
Find maps of Fort Gordon, GA
Created/Published
Documentation compiled after 1968.
Notes
Survey number HAER GA-91
Building/structure dates:
1863 initial construction
Building/structure dates:
1995 demolished
Significance: The Silas C. Read Sawmill (previously referred to as the Maxwell Mill) is one of the oldest sawmills in Georgia. The sawmill may have been established by Silas C. and Lucy J. Read during the Civil War to meet the lumber needs of the Confederate war industry, The presence of a masonry and concrete dam at the sawmill site is unique among the nearly seventy-five historic mills that operated in Richmond County from 1746-1941. It is significant for its potential to yield information regarding the engineering and construction of private sawmills and dams in mid-nineteenth century Georgia. The mill is not currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Subjects
Sawmills
Related Names
Read, Silas C.
Collection
Historic American Engineering Record (Library of Congress)
Contents
Photograph caption(s):
View of Read Sawmill masonry dam, pump and earthen dam, facing west
View of Read Sawmill masonry dam and concrete block retaining wall, facing north
View of Read Sawmill masonry dam, facing north
View of Read Sawmill masonry dam, site of submerged sawmill remains and earthen dam, facing north
View of Read Sawmill masonry dam, facing south
View of concrete block retaining wall
View of Read Sawmill masonry dam, West end, showing fractured portion
View of pump, facing east
View of sluice gate, north side of masonry dam, facing south
View of submerged remains of Read Sawmill, showing floor boards, wall boards, tenoned uprights and mortised sill beams.
View of submerged remains of Read Sawmill, showing earthen dam wooden crib structures
View of submerged remains of Read Sawmill, showing floor boards, cross beams and notches for wall post beams.
View of submerged remains of Read Sawmill, with floor boards removed, showing cross beams, foundation sill and mortises, and horizontal wall boards.
View of submerged remains of Read Sawmill with most floorboards removed, showing cross beams with mortises, vertical wall boards, and horizontal floor boards.
View of cross beam with mortise and underlying double floor boards, following removal of structural members from stream
View of floor boards and wall post beams, following removal of structural members from stream
View of wall post beam with abutting cross beam, showing chocks
View of double floor boards with mortises cross beams, showing spikes and flooring nails (Lower board layer exposed)
View of double floor boards with mortises cross beams, showing spikes and flooring nails (Lower board layer exposed)
View of half-lapped wall fragment, located in downstream debris field
View of pegged beams, located in downstream debris field
View of pegged beams, located in downstream debris field
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