Concord Covered Bridge Historic District

The Concord Covered Bridge Historic District was created by Cobb County in 1986, the county’s first historic district. The focal point of the district is the Concord Covered Bridge. There are many additional historic structures dating back to the mid-1800s when milling communities developed along the Nickajack Creek.

For more information on the various structures and features of the district, see the list by clicking here.


The Historic District Map

The Historic District Map

The Concord Covered Bridge Historic District was created by Cobb County in 1986, the county's first historic district. The focal point of the district is the Concord Covered Bridge. There are many additional historic structures dating back to the mid-1800s...
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The Covered Bridge

The Covered Bridge

The Concord Covered Bridge is the focal point of the surrounding Historic District.It is famous as the only covered bridge remaining in Cobb County, still open to automobile traffic, and traffic counts show it as the busiest covered bridge in...
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Concord Woolen Mills

Concord Woolen Mills

Since the early 1800s, people have used the enormous water power of the Nickajack creek to power mills in the community. Grist mills, saw mills, cotton mills, woolen mills. In the area around the Covered Bridge Historic District, a mill-based...
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Ruff’s Grist Mill

Ruff’s Grist Mill

The grist mill in front of the miller's house dates to the 1850s. It had an overshot water wheel at its north side, fed by a mill race carrying water from the dam upstream from the covered bridge. Because of...
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John Gann House

John Gann House

Built int he 1840s by State Senator John Gann on land awarded in the Gold Land Lottery of 1832, this farm house survived the Battle of Ruff's Mill because a "Yankee General saw the Masonic flag flying from an upstairs...
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Henry Clay Ruff House

Henry Clay Ruff House

The house on the northeast side of the covered bridge is believed to date to the beginning of the grist mill. Earliest deed of record is May 17, 1856. As the residence of the first grist miller, Henry Ruff, the...
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John W. Rice House

John W. Rice House

Although a house may have sat on the northwest hill beside the covered bridge, the present house was built by John W. Rice in 1907. He purchased the mill interest from his father, Z. A. Rice. The Rice House is...
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Martin Luker Ruff House

Martin Luker Ruff House

Martin L Ruff, along with Robert Daniel, moved to this area in the 1840s to establish several mill works along Nickajack Creek. No photographs have been found of the original house, but it is believed to date from the 1850s....
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Tour of Homes – Possible Added Tour Times

Just a few hundred yards eastward on the Silver Comet Trail from the Concord Road trailhead is a side trail leading to a very important part of Cobb County history. As the twisty path winds downward toward Nickajack Creek, the impressive ruins of the Concord Woolen Mill will appear for your exploration.

Sometimes referred to as Nickajack Factory, the Woolen Mill began operations about 1847 and, along with the grist mill located at the covered bridge, this area was one of the first sites…
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2019 Tour of Homes – Just a few Tickets Remain

Situated on either side of Nickajack Creek and the famous Concord Covered Bridge are two unique homes that will be featured on the Historic District Tour of Homes this fall.

The Miller’s House and Grist Mill are on the National Register of Historic Places. The house was con¬structed circa 1850 and occupied in 1856 by the Martin L. Ruff family who ground wheat and corn at the gristmill …
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2019 Tour of Homes – Tickets ON SALE NOW

Nestled on 12 acres in the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District is an antebellum property and farmstead that boasts sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and exquisite peacocks among its residents.  The Ruff House will share its 163-year history by showing off its recent renovation on the Historic District Tour of Homes this fall.

Built by Martin Luker Ruff, a Cobb County pioneer farmer and builder of water-powered mills along Nickajack Creek, this home…
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2019 Tour of Homes – Tickets go ON SALE July 1st

Have you ever driven by that “Pink House” with the palm trees on Concord Road and wondered what it looks like inside? The Gann House aka Boxwood Cottage is in the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District and will be on full display on the Historic District Tour of Homes

Constructed in 1841 by Captain John Gann, Cobb County’s first state senator, this 178-year-old beauty is showing off its best face ….Read More

Announcing Historic District Tour of Homes

We are proud to announce that we will host a Tour of Homes this coming fall. This premier event will feature four unique houses on a two-hour guided tour including transportation to each of the venues. You won’t want to miss seeing the interiors of these renovated antebellum and one-of-a-kind houses which are located within the Historic District. Admission will be arranged so that there will be no more than twelve ticketed guests going through the homes at a time, allowing us to offer you a unique, in-depth, and memorable Tour. Read more

“Hold The Fort, I Am Coming”

Last year in October, I posted about Sherman’s return to Ruff’s Mill three months after the 1864 battle there. Confederate General Hood had crossed the Chattahoochee and was determined to attack Sherman from behind, disrupting his supplies and communications, jeopardizing…
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Unearthing Cobb County’s Historic Maps

I have always been fascinated with maps. Old maps; unfamiliar maps; maps that hold lost information; maps that show secret buried treasures; maps that walk you through dark unknown caves, etc…. The best birthday party I ever attended I was…
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Fake News! in 1870s Smyrna

We have all heard quite a bit about “Fake News” lately–probably much more than we really want to. But I think it will be interesting to look at a little incident from the 1870s that happened at the Concord Woolen…
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The Story of the Silver Comet

The Silver Comet Trail has been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of cyclists and joggers each year since its completion in the late 1990s. Most people know the trail was built on an abandoned railroad track, but not everyone knows…
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Upcoming Meeting Dates!

Spring is just around the corner; soon our parks will be blooming again, and we will see more and more people enjoying the Silver Comet Trail through Heritage Park and the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District. With Daylight Saving Time…
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Happy 2018! (And 2017 in Review)

As 2017 has come to and end and the new year begins, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District! For those of you who have become members, and to those of you who have donated generously in 2017, we say THANK YOU!

Here are just a few of the things we’ve accomplished this year:

Poem: The Covered Bridge Exposed

The Covered Bridge Exposed, by Jeffrey Zygmont In wintertime one hundred years ago New Hampshire country people couldn’t go across a covered bridge upon a sleigh because the cover kept the snow away, and runners under sleighs won’t glide on…
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Concord Covered Bridge — Construction Update

I recently talked with the site supervisor to get an update on the Concord Covered Bridge project. He reports that work is progressing well with no major problems and that they are on schedule. To start the project, two very…
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Sherman’s Return to Ruff’s Mill in October, 1864

Many residents of Cobb County know about the Battle of Ruff’s Mill, fought in and around the mid-1800s milling community just outside present-day Smyrna. What many do not know is that Sherman’s army returned to Ruff’s Mill in October, 1864,…
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