Metro Atlanta Builder (edited) History to help sell Olde Mill Forest Homes May-June 1971 A WAGON TRAIL used during the Civil War and the crumbling walls of an ancient mill are being given new life and purpose by two imaginative young builders developing their first joint subdivision in Cobb County. Olde Mill Forest is the initial residential project of Millcreek Properties, a newly-formed development company headed by Ronald Adams, former banker, and Tom Todd, a graduate engineer. The homes being planned and built are based on standard blueprints, but all have been or will be uniquely adapted to enhance and be enhanced by the best topographic and historic features of the property and of the individual lots themselves. The thickly-wooded hills there are abundantly strewn with boulders. “Both the trees and the rocks served as obstacles to construction activities at times,” said Todd, “but we made a total commitment when we began, to preserve as much of the natural environment as possible.” The property is further distinguished by a deeply-rutted, century-old wagon road. This historic feature, rather than being bull-dozed and filled, is playing a leading role in the styling and placement of some of the homes. The first five homes at Olde Mill Forest will all have a “personal” relationship with the road. All five face onto Sewell Mill Road, and the antique lane meanders down the hill approximately parallel to the newer road, crossing each of the five lots at some point. One of the homes will be reached by a bridge crossing the wagon road, described as “straddling” the wagon road, with the house on one side of it and the garage on the other. Information from Olde Mill Forest traditional and rustic country style homes in magnificent wooded settings September, 1971 Lot 3-A, 3399 Sewell Mill Road, a Rustic split-Level – 2/3 acre lot – with double enclosed garage connects to house with covered bridge spanning an old wagon road leading to ruins of Grist Mill. At another point in the property, the old wagon trail forks. One part leads to the site of a Civil War hospital previously located there and another heads toward the ruins of a once thriving grist mill at the bottom of the tract of land. The fast flowing waters of the stream that once served as a power source for the mill race over more than a hundred yards of boulders forming falls and rapids as it passes by creating an eye-and-ear pleasing setting. Rather than being placed equal distance from the street, homes are being staggered and angled, as dictated by the contour of the land. The great outdoors will be an important part of each home. Because of the developers’ ardor for advantageous placement and conservation of trees and terrain, most rooms offer inspiring views. Additionally, some will have direct access to the outside. Patios and decks expand the living area of the homes, tying the woods in with the house and vice versa. Austrian-born Hans Waldrich assisted with the unique conceptual designs at nights and on weekends because he felt that the Adams/Todd team was “genuinely interested in building something other than housing ‘garbage’, and their choice land provided them with a rare opportunity to do it right.” The architectural consultant said, “We need to keep what’s traditional in the homes we build because of the country’s wonderful past. At the same time, these homes must be designed and built for living in today’s fast-moving world. This is what we’ve tried to do with Olde Mill Forest; retain the best of the olden days, but incorporate plans suitable to the uninhibited freedoms of today’s life styles.” Waldrich says, “What many home builders don’t realize, because they haven’t yet tried it, is that most of the styles and appointments that transform an average house into a truly appealing and useful one adds little or no additional expense to construction costs, with proper planning.”
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