3rd Annual Tree Planting at Silver Comet Trail – Saturday, October 17th at 9:00 AM
The Historic District Map
The Concord Covered Bridge Historic District was created by Cobb County in 1986, the county's first historic district. The focal point of the district is the Concord Covered Bridge. There are many additional historic structures dating back to the mid-1800s...
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The Covered Bridge
The Concord Covered Bridge is the focal point of the surrounding Historic District.It is famous as the only covered bridge remaining in Cobb County, still open to automobile traffic, and traffic counts show it as the busiest covered bridge in...
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Concord Woolen Mills
Since the early 1800s, people have used the enormous water power of the Nickajack creek to power mills in the community. Grist mills, saw mills, cotton mills, woolen mills. In the area around the Covered Bridge Historic District, a mill-based...
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Ruff’s Grist Mill
The grist mill in front of the miller's house dates to the 1850s. It had an overshot water wheel at its north side, fed by a mill race carrying water from the dam upstream from the covered bridge. Because of...
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John Gann House
Built in the 1840s by State Senator John Gann on land awarded in the Gold Land Lottery of 1832, this farm house survived the Battle of Ruff's Mill because a "Yankee General saw the Masonic flag flying from an upstairs...
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Henry Clay Ruff House
The house on the northeast side of the covered bridge is believed to date to the beginning of the grist mill. Earliest deed of record is May 17, 1856. As the residence of the first grist miller, Henry Ruff, the...
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John W. Rice House
Although a house may have sat on the northwest hill beside the covered bridge, the present house was built by John W. Rice in 1907. He purchased the mill interest from his father, Z. A. Rice. The Rice House is...
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Martin Luker Ruff House
Martin L Ruff, along with Robert Daniel, moved to this area in the 1840s to establish several mill works along Nickajack Creek. No photographs have been found of the original house, but it is believed to date from the 1850s....
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Latests Posts:
The Friends of the Concord Covered Bridge invite you to join us to celebrate Fall and our wonderful Historic District by assisting with the planting of two more Maple Trees along the pathway leading down to the Silver Comet Trail from the Concord Road Parking Lot. We will meet (properly masked) to plant these two additional trees on…
District 4 Commissioner – Runoff Election August 11th.
There will be a runoff election August 11th for the District 4 County Commissioner. The two remaining candidates are Monique Sheffield and Shelia Edwards, both on the Democratic ticket. Cobb County’s District 4 Commissioner race held a primary in May…
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Audio Tour App is LIVE…Download the Tour!
The Friends of the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District proudly announce the release of our Historic District Audio Tour App.
This Self-Guided Walking Audio Tour explores numerous historical sites and other prominent landmarks within and adjoining the Historic District. The narration will enrich you about the people and their lives from the 19th century when these lands were first settled. The Audio Tour App is also filled with additional visual content.
You can take the Tour starting from three different locations around the Historic District and be guided Stop-by-Stop as…
July 3rd, 1864: The 54th Ohio Regiment at Ruff’s Mill
156 years ago today, July 3rd, 1864, Sherman’s army fought through the woods in our area of Cobb County, intent on destroying Johnston’s army and capturing Atlanta, the manufacturing base of the Confederacy. Today’s newsletter contains Captain Edward B. Moore’s…
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Audio Tour App Under Development
Your Friends of the Concord Covered Bridge are busy developing a Smartphone App that will lead visitors along an exciting and educational Self-Guided Audio Walking Tour of the Historic District. This unique App will take tour takers to and through fourteen different locations within and around the District; pointing out its landmarks, describing the rich history of the area, and providing supplemental photo and video content, right on your iPhone, iPad or Android device.
The App utilizes GPS Locations from your Smartphone to lead you from point-to-point…
Sunday Lecture on the History of the Concord Covered Bridge
The Smyrna Public Library hosts a series of monthly lectures the first Sunday of each month. May’s lecture will be given online by Philip Ivester on the obscure history of the iconic Concord Covered Bridge. Are you curious about its…
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Cobb County Considers Changes to Historic Preservation Law
Cobb County Commissioners are hearing public comments on proposed changes to the County Code at the next two Board of Commissioners meetings. If you are receiving this newsletter, it is probably because you are interested in Cobb County Parks, Heritage…
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Tonight: Ruff’s Mill Battlefield Project Community Meeting
The LAMAR Institute invites you to participate in an exciting pursuit to locate the 1864 Battle of Ruff’s Mill and to identify and interpret its components across the landscape. The project, funded by a grant from the American Battlefield Protection…
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National Park Service Awards $95,887 Grant For Ruff’s Mill Battlefield Research!
The Friends of the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District has been working with the LAMAR Institute out of Savannah on a proposal to research the Civil War battles fought around the Historic District in July of 1864. I am pleased…
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Application For Modern Development Near Concord Covered Bridge
Tonight at 6 PM, October 14th, the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) is hearing another application for a Certificate of Appropriateness in the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District. You may remember this controversial issue from a couple of years ago. If…
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Fourth of July at Ruff’s Mill: Reminiscence of a Brigadier General
The fourth of July is upon us again! As we celebrate our Nation’s origins, and the dusk settles in, fireflies come out, everyone is in a celebratory mood, and the sound of booming fireworks begin all around us, it is…
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Join us Sunday May 19th at 3 PM for our 2019 Annual Meeting
The Friends of the Concord Covered Bridge invite you to attend a special Annual Meeting of the organization on Sunday, May 19, 2019 at 3:00 PM. It will be at WellStar Vinings Health Park Chattahoochee Community Room at 4441 Atlanta…
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Visit with us this weekend at the Smyrna Jonquil Festival
The Friends of the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District will host a Booth at this weekend’s Smyrna Spring Jonquil Festival at the Village Green in downtown Smyrna. We will be there from 10 AM to 6 PM on Saturday, April…
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Announcing Historic District Tour of Homes
We are proud to announce that we will host a Tour of Homes this coming fall. This premier event will feature four unique houses on a two-hour guided tour including transportation to each of the venues. You won’t want to miss seeing the interiors of these renovated antebellum and one-of-a-kind houses which are located within the Historic District. Admission will be arranged so that there will be no more than twelve ticketed guests going through the homes at a time, allowing us to offer you a unique, in-depth, and memorable Tour. Read more
Reminder – Tomorrow, Saturday Morning Tree Planting & Historic District Walking Tour
The Friends of the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District invite YOU to join us on Saturday, March 2nd to Plant two more Maple Trees along the path leading down to the Silver Comet Trail at Concord Road. Last year we…
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Are those plants Azaleas or Wild Honeysuckle? Help settle an argument.
If you’ve been on a walk recently back into the woods around the Concord Woolen Mill ruins, you’ve surely noticed some blooms emerging after a long winter. The 100-acre park around the Silver Comet trail head is a great place…
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Saturday, March 2nd, 2019: Tree Planting & Historic District Walking Tour
The Friends of the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District invite YOU to join us on Saturday, March 2nd to Plant two more Maple Trees along the path leading down to the Silver Comet Trail at Concord Road. Last year we…
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Merry Christmas from the Covered Bridge Historic District
Last Year we shared a poem about Covered Bridges in the snow. This year’s Christmas poem comes from Cobb County’s Facebook Page. Merry Christmas! An Ode to #13, a Covered Bridge Holiday Poem; ‘Twas the night before Christmas, near the…
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Concord Covered Bridge Repairs and Cobb County Honored for Innovation
The Georgia Partnership for Transportation Quality has selected the Concord Covered Bridge Rehabilitation Project as one of its prestigious winners, recognizing Cobb County DOT and consultant Arcadis for a challenging task done well. The Covered Bridge project, one of three…
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Cobb County and the National Archives Part 2 – Aerial Photography
Previously, I mentioned my recent visit to the National Archives researching Cobb County history. Today I want to share another discovery from this trip: 1930s Aerial Photography! The oldest Cobb County aerial photography I have found is not from the…
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“Hold The Fort, I Am Coming”
Last year in October, I posted about Sherman’s return to Ruff’s Mill three months after the 1864 battle there. Confederate General Hood had crossed the Chattahoochee and was determined to attack Sherman from behind, disrupting his supplies and communications, jeopardizing…
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Unearthing Cobb County’s Historic Maps
I have always been fascinated with maps. Old maps; unfamiliar maps; maps that hold lost information; maps that show secret buried treasures; maps that walk you through dark unknown caves, etc…. The best birthday party I ever attended I was…
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Fake News! in 1870s Smyrna
We have all heard quite a bit about “Fake News” lately–probably much more than we really want to. But I think it will be interesting to look at a little incident from the 1870s that happened at the Concord Woolen…
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July 3rd, 1864 — Reconnaissance Along Nickajack Creek
The day before the Battle of Ruff’s Mill was fought, the 50th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was sent out on a reconnaissance along Nickajack creek to ascertain details of the position of Confederates in southern Cobb County. The Union Army was…
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The Story of the Silver Comet
The Silver Comet Trail has been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of cyclists and joggers each year since its completion in the late 1990s. Most people know the trail was built on an abandoned railroad track, but not everyone knows…
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Saturday, April 21st-Tree Planting & Historic District Walking Tour and Sunday, April 22nd-Annual Meeting
There are many things happening in and around the Historic District and the number of our supporting Members is growing. We want to share with you our vision for the future of the Historic District and Heritage Park at our Annual Meeting on Sunday, April 22nd, 2:00 PM. We would love to hear your thoughts and ideas as well. There will be a special Guest Speaker who … Click to Read More
Another Application For Modern Development Near Concord Covered Bridge
As a follow-up from this post from back in December, an application has been made to develop a modern residence in the center of the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District. The applicant has re-submitted plans to the Historic Preservation Commission,…
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New Warning Signs for the Concord Covered Bridge Coming Soon
The Historic Concord Covered Bridge has a restricted height clearance of 7 feet. Although this limitation is well posted on approaches to the bridge, the occasional over-height driver inevitably ignores these warning signs and gets stuck in the protection beams…
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Upcoming Meeting Dates!
Spring is just around the corner; soon our parks will be blooming again, and we will see more and more people enjoying the Silver Comet Trail through Heritage Park and the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District. With Daylight Saving Time…
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January Meeting of Friends of the Concord Covered Bridge
The 2018 January Meeting of the Friends of the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District will be held on Sunday afternoon, January 21st, 2018 at 3:00 PM. The meeting will be held at Vinings Bank Community Room 4135 Atlanta Road…
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