Historic City Mills - How a Community Came Through

By Scott Berson

There is one little spot on the Chattahoochee, just a little ways up from Uptown, which has had quite the journey to get where it has come today. The storied brick buildings, perched sentinel-like over the flowing waters of the Chattahoochee, are now home to new life, excitement, food and wonder. After more than a century and a half of history, and decades of dereliction, the historic City Mills site in Columbus opened this year as a new boutique hotel, restaurant, and yoga center -- with more likely to come. The rapids rush on just downstream, and the Riverwalk brings explorers from north and south to see the incredible change.

It took a lot of work to get here. Longtime community partner Ken Henson, Columbus businessman Jack Pezold, the Historic Columbus Foundation, Valley Hospitality and many others came together to turn this crucial piece of Columbus’s past into a mark of its future.

Seaborn Jones built a small water-powered gristmill on the Chattahoochee in 1828. He constructed a wooden dam across the rapids to provide power, and that original dam continued to be used until 1908, when a stone dam was constructed.

Following the war in 1869, a group of businessmen built a new mill on the site. The new building was a three-story wooden structure known as the “corn mill” built by Horace King. The Corn Mill was really the only building on site until 1890, when George A. Pearce organized and received a charter for a new City Mills Company. The construction that year included a brick warehouse, a wooden grain elevator, and an additional grinding facility, known as the “flour mill.” A concrete silo was constructed in 1914.

In addition to grinding meal, the mill also generated power. City Mills was the first of many hydropower users at the Falls of the Chattahoochee, and in the 1890s it became involved in hydroelectric development at the site. From the late 1890s, the Brush Electric Light Co. generated electricity on top of the mill to light homes and power the city’s street cars.

It was George Pearce who really developed the site and grew it into an important industry for Columbus. After Mr. Pearce’s death in 1931, John P. Illges was elected President. It was purchased by Eelbeck Co. in 1951. The mill was sold to Lloyd G. Bowers in 1966. Cornmeal and flour were produced from City Mills until the 1960s. Animal feed became the main product for the mill until the early 1980s. Then operations ceased.

In 2015, Ken Henson approached the Historic Columbus foundation, inviting them to partner with him to stabilize the two remaining buildings. City Mills was the last endangered mill within the National Historic Landmark District, and the Foundation jumped at the chance by making the stabilization project the centerpiece of its 50th anniversary capital campaign.

“Historic preservation is more than just saving old buildings–it’s about our shared history as a community and it’s about people and the places they care about,” said Executive Director Elizabeth Walden.

The group’s investment paid off, and became the single, largest investment Historic Columbus has made to a project to date. Historic Columbus invested $1.2 million in the stabilization, paving the way for the project to move forward.

Mr. Henson then found a new partner in Pezold Management. Jack Pezold and Tracy Sayers were able to see the adaptive re-use possibilities in the buildings for a new boutique hotel.

Now the hotel is open for business, and the attention to detail and tangible love of its local connection is clear from every brick. The website for the hotel describes it better than anyone else could.

“Steps from the historic Chattahoochee River, an electrifying symbol of our city’s urban renewal, City Mills is Columbus’ first luxury boutique hotel. Filled with custom furniture, original artwork and potters, state-of-the-art technology, and preserved pieces from the Mill’s historic past, City Mills revels in the details,” it says. “Original brick walls. Hand-crafted metalworks. Preserved artifacts. Decorative local works of art. Every square inch of City Mills reflects our unique history and integrated collaboration between historians, designers, architects, and artisans who brought a vision to life.”

Each room comes with an incredible view, and you’re steps from an amazing session at River Flow Yoga and Wellness and the sights, smells and tastes of downtown Columbus just a moment away. Soon, the Millhouse Restaurant will open as well, “[combining] the energy of City Mills with the tranquility of the river to bring you an unparalleled dining experience.” It is set to serve its first dishes in early Spring of 2022.

So come, no matter what the reason, and cherish this place, a testament to what a community can do to save and reuse a place it cares about. Book a room for a treat, or put up a family member or friend for a visit. Walk the halls and study the pictures that take us back to the old heart of this town. Connect with yourself and with others at River Flow. A true gem of the south, City Mills is back to stay, and will continue to serve the residents and visitors of Columbus for many years to come.