Sope Creek

Sope Creek is a major stream located in Cobb County, Georgia. It is a significant tributary of the Chattahoochee River, and is used for whitewater rafting. [http://www.americanwhitewater.org/rivers/id/500] It was originally known as Soap Creek during the 19th century.

Geography

Sope Creek starts within the city of Marietta proper, on the west side of Interstate 75, on the northern portion of the Georgia State Route 120 Loop. The creek travels east, parallel with the northern portion of the 120 Loop, turning southeast around the same point as the road. It then separates from road, continuing southeast, as the road bends south. It crosses Roswell Road (the main Georgia 120), and travels in a sidewinder fashion to the east for the next four miles or six kilometers. Along the way, Sewell Mill Creek and Bishop Creek both empty into Sope Creek. At this point, the creek turns south-southeast and crosses Lower Roswell Road. It travels in this direction for the next two miles (3km), crossing Paper Mill Road and Columns Drive, before emptying into the Chattahoochee River. From beginning to end, Sope Creek falls nearly 300 feet or 90 meters over the course of approximately 12 miles or 19 kilometers. In the last two miles, Sope Creek cuts through the palisades that formed on both sides of the Chattahoochee, forming a small gorge based around the creek.

The most important feature of the Creek is its name recognition. With one exception, Sope Creek is usually not treated as a major entity until the last two miles. The exception is an apartment complex close to the crossing of Roswell Road, near the six-mile (9.6km) mark. Near the end of the creek, the name of Sope Creek has more appeal to the public, and therefore, it is seen in names, such as Sope Creek Elementary School, Sope Creek Nature Trails, and Sope Creek Homes.

The old covered bridge

Paper Mill Road crosses the creek about one mile upstream from the point where the Sope empties into the Chattahoochee. Paper Mill Road has to wind down the gorge in order to cross over the creek. At the crossing, circa 1960, lay one of Cobb County’s two remaining covered bridges; the other crossed Nickajack Creek near Smyrna. The Sope Creek Bridge was a state declared historic structure and only had a weight capacity of 2000 pounds. In 1963, a grossly overweight truck crossed the bridge and damaged the support structure. That summer, the structure was reinforced with steel shanks. On March 29, 1964, the covered bridge burned to the ground, leaving behind only the steel shanks and masonry. Arson was suspected as the Nickajack Covered Bridge had been partially burned only a few weeks prior.

The beauty of the area that was lost is beyond measure. The "Atlanta Journal" once said of the area, “Sope Creek, particularly in the springtime, is a place of unusual beauty. A quaint old covered bridge spans the stream just below where the log dam used to be. The stream is strewn with great boulders and the water dashes over these in a series of cascades, causing such masses of foam that they look like soapsuds.”

The industrial center and Confederate money

Located at the intersection of Paper Mill Road and Sope Creek are old industrial ruins. These ruins used to be the center of an industrial center based on the waterpower that the creek produced. During the period from 1850 to 1940, a paper mill, twine plant, flourmill and hydroelectric power plant occupied an area about one mile long.

The company that ran the paper mill at Sope Creek was called the Marietta Paper Mills. The Marietta Paper Mills were incorporated on December 19 of 1859, possibly by Andrew Schofield Edmondston and Saxon A. Anderson. Facilities at the Paper Mill included a mill, oil room, office, mill sluice (raceway), storeroom, dam, machine shop, pulp-grinding mill, and two shelters.

The Daily Intelligencer of Atlanta printed a letter dated September 10, 1863, from Mr. A.S. Edmonston [sic] to the Intelligencer. In it, Mr. Edmondston pleads with the Intelligencer, letting them know, that while they are the newspaper’s main source of paper, they can only send them so much due to war constraints. Edmondston writes:

I have on hand a few bundles of paper, which I will ship you, and this will be the last for some time; for when we shall resume again I cannot tell. My hands volunteered in the Home Guard, to protect the country against raids, and are now called out to guard stores and prepare the defences [sic] of your city, I understand. In the first instance, at the commencement of the war, I was disposed to aid all in my power and encouraged two of the hands to volunteer in Confederate service. This left hardly hands enough to get along with when all were well. Afterwards we lost two or three hands, and this left us short of hands, and one machine has only run when our hands have worked eighteen hours in the day.--We applied for the detail of the hands which has not been done, though the Government has been urgent for paper, and we have strained every nerve to supply. Shorthanded, we have done the best we could, and now all our hands are taken, of course we are obliged to stop.

Edmondston goes on to complain about the fact that while the Confederate government demands paper, he is shorthanded because paper workers were not considered vital to the war effort. Edmondston says, “You know Paper makers are not to be had South, and are not like Shoe-Makers, and many other callings which give exemptions to so many thousands, and cannot be learned after the Conscript officer takes after a fellow.”

In 1933, the "Atlanta Journal" printed an article reminiscing about the Marietta Paper Mills. In an editorial note that accompanied the article, a senior staff member at the Journal, H.H. Cabaniss, recalled that the Marietta Paper Mills, under the ownership of Saxon A. Anderson supplied paper for a great many of the Atlanta area daily newspapers. That senior staff member was H.H. Cabaniss. In 1867, he had been the business manager for the Atlanta New Era and bought his paper in rolls from the Marietta Paper Mills.

The paper supply became even harder to come by when on July 5, 1864, Union soldiers under the command of General Gerrard burned the Marietta Paper Mill, along with Denmead’s Flour Mill. The Paper Mill was rebuilt in 1865, only to burn again in 1870 and be rebuilt in 1871. The mill struggled to survive the years immediately following the second rebuilding. The mills were sold at a public sale in 1873 and restructured as the Marietta Paper Manufacturing Company. In 1888 and 1889, a wood pulp mill and a twine factory were added to the site, respectively. Finally, in 1902, production at that location stopped.

The "Atlanta Constitution" printed a picture of the Paper Mill ruins on the banks of the Soap creek [sic] in May 1932. The caption read “GREAT WALLS BUILT BY SLAVE LABOR… Before the Civil War this building housed a large paper mill.” This is the only reference to slavery in the material concerning the Sope Creek Industrial Area. It should also be noted that the language of this caption infers that the Paper Mill never recovered from the burning by Gerrard’s men, when in fact it had.

Along with the Paper Mill was Denmead’s Flour Mill. Founded in 1855, Edward Denmead had built a Flour Mill on the west bank about 200 yards up from where Paper Mill Road and the Sope Creek intersect. Denmead apparently ran this operation and shared a road off of Paper Mill Road with the Marietta Paper Mills. The flourmill was burnt at the same time as the Paper Mill, but apparently was never rebuilt.

In 1922, a hydroelectric dam and a power plant were built on the west side of the creek 900 yards (~820m) upstream from where Paper Mill Road crosses. As of 1973, this dam was inoperable.

When the GHC submitted its report in March 1973, they gave great detail to the purpose of every remaining structure. Additionally, the description of the layout of the site was accurate enough that someone could attempt to locate and identify all remaining structures. The mill room was “The largest structure remaining is the mill building downstream from Paper Mill Road approximately ¼ mile on the east bank of the Creek. It contained five rooms and is approximately 300 feet long.” The oil room and office was “nearby… just across a small creek.” The pulp-grinding mill was “just south of Paper Mill Road. It is two stories high and approximately 100 feet long.” Denmead’s flourmill was described, although evidence is difficult to spot today, due to construction. Even the foundations of an old bridge, which lay near the aforementioned dam, were identified.

In the GHC report there is no mention of a printing press. In the all the articles concerning the ruins at Sope Creek, never once is there any mention of printing press. More specifically, there is never any mention of a mint. The idea that the Confederate States of America used to print money on the banks of the Sope Creek had to have developed somewhere.

One single article mentions money printing. The New York Times printed an article on May 31 ,1968 written by Lincoln A. Werden, describing the Atlanta Golf Classic being played at Atlanta Country Club. The Atlanta Country Club abuts Sope Creek about a third of a mile from the Sope Creek entrance to the Chattahoochee. Werden writes “The par-3 13th, a 135-yard hole, is a photographer’s delight. The tee is on high ground and Soap Creek, a fast moving muddy stream, runs in front of the green. To the left is a waterfall and off to the right of the green is the site of a former Confederate mint.”

Outside of the golfers themselves, the only source Werden quoted was the tournament director, Jack Tuthill. At that time, Atlanta Country Club was only four years old and hosting a major tournament event.

The little ferry that didn’t

The Atlanta metro area is lined with street and road names that conjure images of the 19th century. Names like Powers Ferry, Johnson Ferry, Howell Mill, Collier Mill, and Paces Ferry are all part of the Atlanta lexicon. At many of these old ferry locations, roads and bridges have been built. But the journey to see what locals knew about their local history, not a single patron mentioned Isom’s Ferry. In 1851, James Isom founded a ferry that crossed the Chattahoochee at the mouth of Sope Creek. Today, there is hardly any record of Isom’s Ferry. During the 1850s, Isom amassed sizable wealth for the time, owning a great deal of land and three slaves. He died in 1866, and his son-in-law John Heard took over the operations. Heard ran the ferry until 1890. The main reason for the lack of knowledge of James Isom is the fact that after he died, his son-in-law changed the name of the ferry. Heard’s Ferry has some minor name recognition, but mainly on the Fulton County side of the river.

Origin of the name

The most logical way to search for a topic in this day and age is by name. The name “Sope Creek” led to a small number of hits on a wide array of search engines. I knew that there was Civil War significance to Sope Creek, but I could not find any reference as such. The idea arose that spelling was a higher art in the 19th century, so the search was expanded to “Soap Creek.” This led to a great deal of hits, many of which were from the Civil War era.

There seems to be at least one other “Soap Creek” in Georgia history, possibly two. The first is located in what is now Lincoln County, Georgia. It starts in Wilkes County and used to run 15 miles (24 km) to the Savannah River. Today, much of the old creek is now an inlet. It has shortened considerably since the damming of the Savannah River at J. Strom Thurmond Dam.

The second is now called Sofkee Creek. Sofkee Creek is a tributary of Tired Creek which runs into the Ochlockonee River approximately 25 miles (40 km) north of Tallahassee, Florida. According to a book written by amateur historian Ken Krakow, at one point Sofkee Creek might have been called Sope, Soap, or Sofka Creek. While the origin of the name is uncertain, Krakow asserts that Sofkee Creek was the home of the Cherokee Chief, “Old Sope”. The problem with Krakow’s assertion is that the Sofkee Creek is located in Grady County, which is on the southern border of Georgia. It is unlikely, although not out of the question, that a Cherokee settled that far south. If the idea of a Native American is correct, it is more likely to be a Creek or Seminole than a Cherokee.

Further contradictory evidence is given to Krakow’s claim, that the old Cherokee was located in southern Georgia, just two years before the publishing of his book. In 1973, the Georgia Historical Commission (GHC) prepared a report to the United States Department of the Interior’s National Park Service. The goal of this report was for the Paper Mill ruins at Sope Creek to gain acceptance to the National Register of Historic Places inventory. In that report, the GHC alluded to previous Native American occupation. According to the GHC, the area along the Sope Creek (Cobb) riverbanks showed “definite indications of Indian occupation prior to the white industrial development of the area in the 19th century”. Additionally, the GHC said that the explanation for the spelling of S-O-P-E, instead of S-O-A-P, was “that the Creek is named for a Cherokee Indian called “Old Sope” who lived in the area perhaps even after the Removal.” Old Sope was said to teach his ways to the children of settlers. It has been told that when troops came to force him to leave on the Trail of Tears, local settlers protected Old Sope and told the Georgia Guard to leave. The old chief is said to be buried in near by Sewell's Cemetery.

As of 1973, no archaeological investigations were made, and no evidence was present of any made after 1973. Given the extensive buildup of residential properties and the construction of an interceptor sewer in the mid 1970s, it is quite possible any evidence of Old Sope’s home is either lost or on private property. Currently, only the west bank of Sope Creek between Paper Mill Road and Columns Drive is directly unaffected by development.What can be said of Old Sope was taken by the GHC from an 1836 federal valuation of Cherokee property. According to the GHC, the valuation says that Old Sope possessed “a cabin” and “some peach and apple trees.”

Civil War history

During the March to the Sea, troops first crossed the Chattahoochee at Sope Creek.

On May 4, 1864, Major-General William T. Sherman took control of the Military Division of the Mississippi and began to engage Confederate General Joseph Johnston and his Army of Tennessee. From the beginning, Johnston was persistent in his effort to fight a defensive battle, rather than offensive. Rightly so, Sherman had a two-to-one advantage on Johnston. Additionally, Johnston claimed he was waiting for the right opportunity when Sherman would leave himself exposed. Sherman, unwilling to charge headlong against Johnston, decides to outmaneuver Johnston. Thus, every time Johnston found a superior defensive position, Sherman would maneuver around Johnston, forcing Johnston to retreat to a tactically superior position. The two engaged in this ‘dance’ for nearly two months, with one exception, the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, in which Sherman lost his nerve, attacked head on, and suffered a bloody defeat.

Author David Conyngham best described it in his book, Sherman’s March Through the South, when he wrote “True, such movements would not break up Johnston’s Army, but it gave us a victory; besides, Sherman and Johnston were watching each other’s movements, like two expert wrestlers, to know who would make a slip, for they knew that to attack an intrenched [sic] position was likely to prove a defeat.”

Even though this was the strategically sound theory, this was a personal gamble for Johnston, for every time he retreated, despite the fact that he was outmanned by Sherman, he aggravated Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

Sherman’s troops were divided into three armies. These were the Army of the Cumberland, the Army of the Ohio, and the Army of the Tennessee, commanded by Major Generals George H. Thomas, John M. Schofield, and James B. McPherson, respectively. Johnston was waiting for one of these three armies to be exposed. While they all moved together, they were in fact, three separate units.

The largest body of water between Chattanooga where Sherman started, and Atlanta, was the Chattahoochee River. If there was any time in which the one portion of the Army of the Mississippi could become separated, and therefore vulnerable, crossing the Chattahoochee was it.

As the Union Army approached the Chattahoochee, they moved in from the west and took up positions at Vinings Station. Johnston held the bridgehead on the west side of the river, and had a majority of his troops just across the railroad bridge. On the night of July 7, Sherman gave orders to Schofield to move his troops around and to the left, bypassing Johnston. Sherman had given Schofield orders to find a location between Roswell and Sope Creek in which to ford the Chattahoochee. Sherman said, “I wish you to make an examination thereabouts and secure a foothold, fortified on the other side, anywhere about Roswell or mouth of Soap Creek. I also know that Johnston's cavalry has moved to the south flank. It is important to do this at once, for the fords are very important to us.” Schofield located a ford on the Chattahoochee one half mile upstream of the mouth of Sope Creek.

He then sent to Sherman the following:

I have not been able to reconnoiter as far as Roswell to-day. I find a pretty good crossing near mouth of Soap Creek. Half a mile above the creek is a shallow ford where infantry can cross easily, but there is no road leading to it and it would be difficult to make one. Isham's [sic] Ferry just below mouth of the creek is a good place for a bridge. About 400 yards from the river on east side is a commanding ridge very favorable for a bridge-head. The crossing would be very difficult if that ridge were held in force; but there appears at present only a squad of cavalry and one or two pieces of artillery. If there be no greater force to oppose it, the crossing can be effected [sic] very easily by crossing infantry at the ford above, to clear the ridge and cover the construction of the bridge. The ground on this side is favorable for our artillery. Johnston's cavalry being gone, I take it for granted that I can cross at Roswell without difficulty. The higher up the river the less probability of serious opposition; therefore I think we may choose whichever point you deem it most desirable to have. I propose to move at daylight and cross the river with as little delay as possible, and believe there is very little chance of failure, no matter which point you select.

Sherman decided that McPherson would hold his position across from Johnston, and at the last moment, swing around in the same fashion as Schofield and cross the Chattahoochee at Shallow Ford, what is today known as Shallowford Road. Sherman wrote to Schofield saying:You may move to the neighborhood of the mouth of Soap Creek. Mask well your command and make a lodgment across the Chattahoochee, but do not attempt it until you have a ford nearby by which to reinforce the party first sent, or by which it may be necessary to retire. We can, after lodgement [sic] , make roads to the crossing and may add pontoon bridges, of which we have enough for four bridges. After securing a point opposite Soap Creek, Roswell will follow as a matter of course, and will be additional. The moment I hear that General Garrard has made a lodgment at Roswell, I will send a division of General McPherson to hold fast all he makes. With Roswell and mouth of Soap Creek, we have plenty of room, with Marietta as the depot. I will go down to General McPherson's and stir them up in the morning by way of diversion.

Schofield advanced a division across the river at the ford and instructed them to take up positions opposite of the mouth of Sope Creek. There, they would support bridge-building operations and provide cover while the engineers constructed a pontoon bridge at Isom’s Ferry.

For nearly thirty-six hours, Schofield’s troops were isolated on the other side of the Chattahoochee. Even at the end of that time, when McPherson was on the east bank of the river, he was still miles away from Schofield in Roswell. The opportunity for a counter-offensive that Johnston had been waiting for the previous two months presented itself in those thirty-six hours. Instead of a counter-offensive, Johnston was caught complete by surprise and therefore out of position. The majority of his forces were still in defensive positions at Vinings Station on the east side of the Chattahoochee. Schofield reported to Sherman:

I have a division (General Cox's) [Author’s note: General Cox’s 23rd Army Corps consisted of four divisions, at the time of this letter, only one was known to be across] across the river at this place. It has a good position, and is rapidly intrenching [sic] . Colonel Buell has laid one bridge and will have another across to-night. I spent most of the day in reconnoitering and perfecting arrangements to make success sure. All was done so quietly that they enemy was taken entirely by surprise, so that when my artillery and infantry opened from the west bank the enemy fled, leaving a piece of artillery, which fell into our hands. My men crossed by the ford and in boats at the same time without losing a single man. The enemy used his artillery upon our officers while reconnoitering during the day, but when we opened upon them they fired but a single shot and fled. I presume they were Brown's militia. We have gained the desired point, captured one piece of artillery and nobody hurt. I will give you information concerning roads, etc., beyond the river as soon as possible.

By 8:30 p.m. on the night of July 8, Schofield had laid a bridge crossing the Chattahoochee at Isom’s Ferry and had relocated four divisions to the east bank. Fearing a flanking maneuver by Sherman, Johnston had no alternative but to abandon the west side of the river. He withdrew into Atlanta, burning the railroad bridge behind him.

It was after this debacle that Jefferson Davis decided to replace Johnston with General John B. Hood.

Bibliography

Conyngham, David Power. Sherman’s March Through the South. Horace W. Sturgis Library, Kennesaw State University; New York, Sheldon and Co., 1865. Text-fiche.

Coram, Roger. “Sope Creek Covered Span Destroyed by Easter Blaze.” The "Atlanta Journal", 30 March 1964.

Davis, Maj. George B., ed.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Vol. 38, part 5, The Atlanta Campaign. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1891.

Edmonston, A.S.. “The Marietta Paper Mills.” (Atlanta) Daily Intelligencer, 13 September 1863, 2.

Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental Impact Statement: Sope Creek Drainage Area. Atlanta, Ga.: Environmental Protection Agency, 1973.

Historical Atlas of Georgia Counties. Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia. Available from http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/histcountymaps/lincolnhistmaps.htm. Internet. Accessed 14 July 2004.

Hunter, Dard. "Papermaking: The History and Technique of an Ancient Craft." Courier Dover Publications, 1978, p.535 *The Dover Edition is an unabridged republication of the second edition of this work as published by Alfred A. Knopf, New York, in 1947.*

;Secondary sources:1820 Map of Eastern Indian Nations. Ancestry.com. Available from http://www.rootsweb.com/~itcherok/images/cn-east.gif. Internet. Accessed 17 July 2004. Barney, William L.. Battleground for the Union: The Era of the Civil War and Reconstruction 1848-1877. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall , 1990.

Chapman, Ashton. “Making Paper on Soap Creek.” The "Atlanta Journal", 28 May 1933, p. 10.

Georgia Historical Markers Home Page. Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia. Available from http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/gahistmarkers. Internet. Accessed 20 July 2004.

Golden, Randy. "The End of the Journey." Available from http://ngeorgia.com/naturally/chattahoochee05.html. Internet. Accessed 28 May 2008

Hancock, Jr., William Robert. “The Charles Isom Family: 1830-1900.” Furman University, 1978. Either a term-paper or genealogical study done at Furman. I found it at the Atlanta

Krakow, Ken. Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins. Macon, Ga.: Winship Press, 1975.

Mitchell, William. National Register of Historic Place Inventory: Nomination Form. Atlanta, Ga.: Georgia Historical Commission, 1973.

Thomas Edmondston. Ancestry.com. Available from www.nicanfhilidh.net/genealogy/ps02/ps02_217.html. Internet. Accessed 25 June 2004. Werden, Lincoln A.. “Weiskopf Gains One-Stroke Lead With 68 in Atlanta Golf.” New York Times, 31 May 1968, p. 36.