Cochran Mills, Palmetto March 2013

All Text & Images: Copyright (2013)

My first visit covered only the mill and dam remains on Little Bear Creek.   This mill, the oldest in the
Cochran Mills complex, was built by Cheadle Cochran in the early 1800's.   When he died in 1854, his
estate included 700 acres of land, 40 slaves, and a rustic gristmill that his son Owen continued to run.
The mill's wood structure was burned in 1967; the fieldstone dam was dynamited several years later.

Exploration began opposite the mill ruin, just upstream from an old iron bridge, now closed to traffic:

Little Bear Creek, with remains of a mill at base of waterfall.

Ruins of gristmill wall, dating from the mid 1800's.

Remains of iron flume pipe descend the hillside.

Climbing a trail out of the gorge brings one to the top of the falls:

Breached millpond dam at top of falls

Closer view of the destroyed millpond dam

Upper section of the flume pipe, which originally carried water from the upper millpond to a water wheel or turbine at the grist mill.

The flume pipe would have been connected to this outlet hole in the base of the dam.

One more view of the dam and upper falls

I retraced my steps down the ridge, then crossed to the other side of Little Bear Creek:

Ruined mill wall at base of the waterfall

Broken upper dam viewed from the mill ruins.

Cochran Falls

Remains of another structure's walls adjacent to the mill ruins.

Foundation of another structure at base of the falls.

Texture in the stone...

Another view of the falls and one of the mill walls.

Iron RR rail floor supports and other metal structure.

Many gristmill sites had multiple mill ponds; this might be the remains of a lower mill pond dam.

Spotted this weird-colored snake, but after getting closer, saw that it was rubber!

One more view of the grist mill site and waterfall

Yellow jasmine vine on tree alongside the trail

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All Text & Images: Copyright 2013.