Our History

Long before it hosted first dances and champagne toasts, this riverside landmark powered an empire. Cotton milling began on this site in 1851 when William H. Young established the Eagle Mills, and by 1860 — after absorbing the nearby Howard Factory — it had grown into the second-largest mill in Georgia. During the Civil War, the mill produced material for Confederate uniforms and other critical goods at the site of present-day Mill #1. In one of history’s strange footnotes, slow communication meant a land battle was still fought here after Lee and Grant had already signed the peace; Federal forces overwhelmed Columbus’s defenders, crossed the river, and burned the Eagle Mills to the ground.

But this place was never one to stay down. The mill rose again in 1869, rebuilt and renamed the Eagle & Phenix Mills — a phoenix rising from the ashes. Mill #2 followed in 1872, with further expansion through 1885. The Boiler House (circa 1878), Administration Building (circa 1878), and Machine Shop (circa 1886) still stand today. By 1878, Eagle & Phenix had quadrupled in size to become the largest mill in the South, renowned for producing more than 100 varieties of cotton and woolen goods, for its technological sophistication, and for the services it offered its workers — including its very own Eagle & Phenix Bank.

Hard times followed boom times, as they often do. The mill entered receivership and was purchased in 1896 by G. Gunby Jordan, with W. C. Bradley among his investors and board members. At Jordan’s urging, Bradley accepted the presidency of the mill and ultimately owned Eagle & Phenix from 1915 until 1947. Over the following decades, the property passed through several hands — Reeves Brothers, Fieldcrest, and Pillowtex among them — before W.C. Bradley Co. brought it home again in December 2003, restoring the mills as near to their early-1900s glory as practical.

The PowerHouse buildings themselves were born of progress: constructed on the dam abutments as the mills converted from direct waterpower to electricity. Legend holds that one generator in the upper power house came from the Chicago World’s Fair, and a turbine in the lower power house was salvaged from the dismantled power houses of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

Today, the Eagle & Phenix lives on as a vibrant mixed-use community — once again the pride of Columbus, GA — and PowerHouse carries its legacy forward, one celebration at a time. When you say “I do” here, you’re not just choosing a venue. You’re becoming part of a 175-year story.