The old Tallassee cotton mill dates back to 1852. Nearby, a much smaller building with similar stonework was used by the Confederacy during the Civil War. (Photo/Cliff Williams/Tallassee Tribune)
COMMENTARY
By Troy Turner
The mayor simply was trying to be transparent, as a good mayor should. Little did he know he would stir emotions harkening back to the Civil War.
Tallassee Mayor Joey Wiginton recently announced that city officials had received an inquiry about a 20-megawatt data center plan to use the historic 1852 cotton mill and/or its grounds, which exist today in shambles below the Tallassee bridge and behind Thurlow Dam on the Tallapoosa River.
Across the river in similar gray stonework is the old Confederate Armory, which during the Civil War made rifles for the Confederate Army. The rifle model became known as the Tallassee Carbine.
A historical marker up on the highway near the bridge tells the story:
“Only Confederate armory not destroyed during the Civil War.
“Col. Gorgas, ordnance chief, had carbine shop moved here into Tallassee Mfg. Co. mill in spring, 1864 as war threatened Richmond, Va. armory.
“War ended before plant neared goal of 6,000 carbines per year.
“In 1864 Rousseau’s raid bypassed it.
“1865: forces under Gen. Wilson misled by faulty map, marched 10 miles east; threat of Forrest barred their return.”
A bit more history, for those who value it:
Union Maj. Gen. Lovell H. Rousseau in July 1864 led 2,700 cavalrymen on a raid into central Alabama. Under orders from Gen. William T. Sherman, he was to destroy as much railroad and various other infrastructure as possible, including bridges, depots and other materials deemed supportive of the Confederate war effort.
Rousseau, after traveling through nearby Dadeville and then bypassing Tallassee, focused on his primary objective, which was the railroad tracks that traversed the Alabama countryside from Montgomery toward Atlanta and Columbus, Georgia, as a critical supply route for the Confederacy.
Maj. Gen. Lovell Harrison Rousseau
His troopers traveled toward Notasulga, dispersed, and then dismantled and destroyed more than 30 miles of track in Notasulga, Loachapoka, Auburn and Opelika.
Union Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson followed that raid with another on a similar mission in April 1865, once again destroying railroad operations in Opelika, but missing the armory in Tallassee.
Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson
Today, what’s left of the small 1860s armory is considered a prized piece of Alabama history, and thus the idea of putting a 21st-century data center across the river instantly met fierce resistance.
Not only would a data center require a vast amount of water and electricity, possibly tapping the local resources with great effect, but it also would have a tremendous impact on the scenic and historic lure of the area below the dam in a stretch once known as Tallassee Falls.
And, of course, on the Civil War structure across the river.
“I indicated that we received a letter of interest,” Wiginton said. “I wasn’t trying to advocate one way or the other on the issue at the time. I brought it up to be transparent because that is what I thought everyone wanted.”
Cliff Williams of the Tallassee Tribune reported on the story in May.
The 1852 mill is technically owned by the Tallassee Redevelopment Authority, Williams reported. It is set up that way to make it easier for grants both public and private to aid its renovation. The authority also owns the old bridge.
The Talisi Historical Preservation Society owns the armory building. The preservation group’s property manager and councilmember Fred Randall Hughey said a data center or industrial development is not appropriate for the site.
The Tallassee Carbine (National Museum of American History)
“Over the last 30 to 35 years, we’ve been able to restore and save three of the four buildings down there,” Hughey said. “We did it for history so the history will be preserved. I wouldn’t be for anything that would dilute the history of it.”
The matter of a data center is closed for now, the mayor told the Tribune, but he is still looking for ideas to bring jobs and revenue to town.
“I regret that people got so emotionally involved at this early stage with just a letter of inquiry,” Wiginton said. “If I get another letter about something else, I will bring it up. It’s about transparency.”
Kudos on that.
And so it goes. The only Confederate armory to survive the Civil War looks like it’ll be spared from another raid.
Tallassee 3, Raiders 0.
Troy Turner is the editor and senior consultant for AlaDefense.com. He can be contacted at [email protected]. His bio can be found here. A side note: He was born in the old Tallassee Hospital, which sat on the eastern bank above the dam and only a few hundred yards from where the mill is located.
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