James May-June 2023 web - Flipbook - Page 24
location in the center of Cherokee County and
on the banks of the Etowah River.
The city was chartered on December 24,
1833, as Etowah, but the name was changed
the next year to Canton. Situated in a curve
of the Etowah River, Canton was ideally
located to become the economic, social, and
educational center of the region.
White settlers were lured by the discovery of gold and state lotteries offering free
land. And plentiful natural resources were already in Cherokee County, which was established in 1831 out of land held by the native
Cherokee peoples.
As Canton thrived, it became home to
L A K E C A N TO N B LU F FS EC O N O M I C D EV E L O P M E N T
leaders such as Joseph Emerson Brown, who
served as governor of Georgia from 1857 to
1865 and later as a U.S. senator. By the early
After talking with the mayor, Canton has indeed
1900s, the railroad had brought a new prosperity to
met the goal to “Lead with Excellence” in this area
Canton, and a cotton mill was flourishing in the town.
with the preservation and adaptive reuse of the former
“Preserving the character of Canton, especially in
Canton High School as our new City Hall, the old First
our historic downtown, is a wise investment, and we’ve
Baptist Church as our previous City Hall and now home
seen nothing but great returns,” the mayor says. For exto our Canton Police Department, and the partnership
ample, the city has preserved and witnessed the adapwith History Cherokee to transform the prior police
tive reuse of more than 600,000 square feet of historic
headquarters into the new downtown state-of-the-art
buildings in the downtown business district in the past
Cherokee History Center.
five to six years.
A project by developers Penn Hodge and Grant
Schmeelk to convert the former Canton Cotton Mill on
Railroad Street into the adaptive use project, The Mill
on Etowah, is a significant step for the city. And, by the
way, the Georgia Downtown Association recognized
Canton with an Award of Excellence in the category of
Best Adaptive Reuse for the project in 2022.
Hodge says they are proud to be only the second
owners of the mill in its 123-year history. The mill was
founded in 1899 by R.T. Jones. The Mill on Etowah
includes the 250,000-square-foot former denim mill and
the 35 acres on the Etowah River where it is situated.
The development includes office space, restaurants, boutiques and shops, and is home to Reformation
Brewery. The events green provides a dynamic space
for entertainment and community events of all types.
“There are very few classically beautiful, quaint historic cities in north Atlanta. There are very few cities in
north Atlanta with great leadership and a comprehensive vision for the near future. There is only one city in
north Atlanta wrapped by a major river and a greenbelt
system that connects five river front parks. That is why
we love Canton, its layered history, its welcoming culture, and its commitment to community.” Hodge says.
The respected metro area developer notes he and
his team got many of their ideas and inspiration from
other area projects such as Ponce City Market, Avalon,
and the Hub at 30A.
“We are honored and privileged to be second owners of the old Canton Cotton Mill, which had been in the
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JAMES
M AY/ JU N E 2023