For those of us dreaming of a white Christmas, I thought I would share these photos I took nearly 23 years ago of Hagood Mill in the snow. These photographs were actually made in the month of January, which is the month we get most of our snows around here, although we have not seen any snow at all the past two winter seasons. I would love to see snow this winter.

In January of 2002, when these photographs were made, I was the Editor of The Pickens Sentinel. I first began reporting on events at the Hagood Mill in 1999. For years prior to that, I would pass by Hagood Mill on my way to and from our Hannah-Patterson family reunion, held in the fellowship building of my late grandparents’ church, Mountain Grove Baptist Church, and would sometimes stop at the mill. I remember one Sunday afternoon stopping at the mill with a first cousin, after our family reunion and on the way back to our grandparents’ house. A few years later, in 1999, I would be hired as The Sentinel’s Editor and would begin reporting on events at the mill. 

The mill site has changed a lot since these photos were made. For a comparison of the mill site then and now, see photos made just last month during the Native American Celebration at the Hagood Mill. I am glad to see the additions and restoration. I love history and love when history is preserved, for the present and future generations.