On the Oconee River in the Oconee National Forest, Scull Shoals hosted Georgia's first paper mill (1811) and a cotton-mill village that died off after floods and soil exhaustion; today brick store and warehouse ruins and scattered foundations remain. It is a managed U.S. Forest Service historic site with interpretive signs, reached by gravel forest roads or a riverside trail. The surviving walls are fragile and barricaded — view them from the paths, and note the access road can flood.
Vestige documents abandoned & historic places for education and preservation. Always obtain permission before visiting and follow local law.