Though somewhat known locally, these ruins were new to me until I ran across a mention of them on Buddy Sullivan’s Coastal Georgia history website. I’ve driven by the area a hundred times and never thought to stop until yesterday and was I surprised!
Text of Historic Marker on nearby Georgia Highway 99:
“The Thicket”
Sugar Mill – Rum Distillery Ruins
On the banks of Carnochan Creek, a short distance East of here, are the ruins of a famous Sugar Mill and Rum Distillery operated early in the 19th century.
These buildings, constructed of tabby by William Carnochan on his huge sugar plantation at “The Thicket,” followed closely plans laid out by Thomas Spalding of Sapelo. The sugar works and rum distillery were operated successfully on a commercial scale until 1824, when a hurricane tore off the roof and upper story of the mill and cane barn, and destroyed other buildings.
http://tolomato.org/sub_category_list.asp?category=19&title=About+Tolomato+Island
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