In less than a mile from the modern marvels of an interstate expressway, I-575 travelers can travel back in time for nearly two centuries to the oldest settlement area of Georgia. Sixes Mill, one of the last remaining remnants of a 1820s settlement, was made up mostly of prospectors and miners. Here on the southern edge of the Georgia Gold Belt, the Sixes Mine was a large producer of both lode and placer gold.
   The unusual name of Sixes may have been derived from the Cherokee word sutali, an old Indian village near the Etowah River meaning sixth.
   Today the Sixes Mill, locally known as Gresham's Mill, is located on private property. Easily seen from Sixes Road, a pull-off just after the top of the rise from the Interstate Exit 11 affords a safe parking area. The mill survived the Civil War period, and was extensively refurbished around the same time as the arrival of the Marietta and North Georgia Railroad. Since its last renovation in the 1880s, the mill building and over-shot iron wheel survive in remarkable condition. The vintage pickup truck adds plenty of nostalgia to this historic landmark.

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