Porterdale Mills (Porterdale, GA)

Site of the three major cotton mills and the number one employer of African-Americans in the 1950's & 1960's. The mill being owned by the Bibb Mfg. Co. of Macon, Ga. also furnished housing, and schooling for it's employees. The colored housing, being locate across the railroads track on Hwy. 81 toward Covington City limits, in the colored quarters called Rose Hill. The school for coloreds was also located there and served as a Church on Sundays. Porterdale now, some twenty years after the Bibb Mfg. left, Porterdale is now in the revitalization mode, with the some parts mill being transform into condominiums, restaurants & shops, which also includes an Art Gallery that is owned by a African-American. This complex has several African-Americans businesses that are located on the main street in Porterdale. There are several areas still under construction as of July 2007.