Before there was a recorded history of this continent American Indians
formed and used the Okfuskee path for hunting and trading trips from
their settlements on the shoals on the Ocmulgee river that came to be
called Seven Islands.
The Seven Islands of the Ocmulgee was mentioned as a trading point in
accounts of Carolina fur traders that go back as far as 1670. It was
described as having an Indian settlement of about 1400 people. Up until
1730, when George Washington negotiated a treaty with the Creek
Indians ceding land for a stagecoach trail that would connect Augusta
with Mobile AL., Seven Islands was where America ended and the Indian
lands began.
Throughout the early 19th century the Seven Islands stagecoach road was
important to regional commerce. Seven Islands marked the upriver end
of the navigable part of the Ocmulgee River. Cotton growers and fur
traders would bring their goods to the mills near Seven Islands to be
processed and shipped down river. In the mid 1800's at Seven Islands,
there was a grist mill, saw mill, blacksmith shop, school, church, textile mill,
and mill village with several hundred people, located on the west bank of the Ocmulgee river in Butts County. Seven Islands was a thriving community and remained a commercial and historic hub, even after the railroad had
replaced the river steamer.
All this came to an end on November 17, 1864, when Sherman's army, of
about 65,000 men marched thru Jackson and Seven Islands destroying
and burning most of the mills, buildings, and structures at Seven Islands.
It was the end of an era. The community at Seven Islands could never
recover from all the destruction and all that remains today are several of
the old rock foundations.
Below you may download files which have additional information related to
the history of Seven Islands.
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