In 1971 Prater’s Mill was in serious disrepair. To raise funds to preserve the mill, volunteers staged the first Prater’s Mill Country Fair on Mother’s Day weekend in May 1971.
The Prater’s Mill Country Fair will be held on Oct. 10 and 11 at the old water-powered mill near Dalton, which still grinds corn and wheat the old-fashioned way. The fair is always on the second full weekend in October.
Begun by volunteers in 1971 to raise funds to restore the 1855 mill and surrounding buildings, the rural festival offers handmade crafts, Southern music and food. Prater’s Mill is designated as a Local Legacy of American Tradition by the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.
The Prater’s Mill Country Fair focuses on mountain music, Southern foods, living history exhibits and the handmade crafts and original art of 200 talented artists and artisans. Crafts demonstrations include blacksmithing, quilting, wood carving and hand tufting, a cottage industry that evolved into the tufted carpet industry centered in Dalton.
At the fair, visitors take self-guided tours including the operating grist mill, the country store, Shugart Cotton Gin and Westbrook Barn, complete with farm animals and a petting zoo. Across the road from the mill is the 1898 Prater’s Store. In a cabin near the store, Dalton Pike Church of God members serve authentic Southern meals of chicken and dumplins, collard greens and cornbread cooked on a wood stove. Elsewhere throughout the festival area are other specialties, such as pit-cooked barbecue, apple cider and churned ice cream.
During the fair, families enjoy canoeing on the Coahulla Creek and pony rides for the children. Educational exhibits include working antique tractors, antique cars and “Peacock Alley,” a clothesline display of handtufted bedspreads. Appalachian-style cloggers, a wild animal presentation, the play “The Legend of Charles Prater”, as well as country and gospel singers perform on stage. Wandering musicians, dulcimer players and storytellers perform throughout the festival area.
The Prater’s Mill Country Fair is sponsored by the Prater’s Mill Foundation, a nonprofit organization of volunteers dedicated to historic preservation and education. Thirty-seven civic clubs, churches and schools also participate in the community event.
Hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $7, children 12 and under free. Visitors are urged to dress casually and wear comfortable shoes. Parking is free.
Prater’s Mill is located on Georgia Hwy. 2, 10 miles northeast of Dalton, about 30 miles south of Chattanooga. Interstate travelers should take I-75 to the Tunnel Hill-Varnell Exit 341; drive north 4.5 miles to the intersection with Highway 2 at Varnell; turn right and continue 2.6 miles to the mill, a total distance of 7 miles from I-75.For more information, call 706.694-MILL (6455) or e-mail pratersmill@ PratersMill.org. Visit the web site at PratersMill.org.
Forty-five years later, the Prater’s Mill Country Fair continues and serves as the centerpiece of the Prater’s Mill Heritage Park, now owned by the people of Whitfield County.