OAKWOOD - Customers at the new Mundy Mill Road Wal-Mart Supercenter, which opened Wednesday, are greeted by a historical marker honoring the Mundy Mill Road namesake - Andrew Jackson Mundy. (See text of inscription below.)
Oakwood city officials unveiled the marker Tuesday.
It will be moved to a permanent location on a public site at a later date.
Given the significant investment and construction along the Mundy Mill and I-985 corridors, along with the area's rich transportation history, Oakwood Mayor Pro Tem Montie Robinson, Sr., asked the Georgia Department of Transportation's board chairman Mike Evans to unveil the cast iron marker detailing the history of the road and the city.
THE STORE
The 240,000-square-foot store is across the road from the western entrance to Gainesville State College. The company was planning to employ but 350 people and began taking applications several weeks ago.
According to the company Web site, there are now 21 Wal-Marts or Wal-Mart Supercenters within a 35 mile radius of Gainesville.
TEXT OF INSCRIPTION ON MARKER
Mundy Mill and Oakwood
Fertile fields of cotton and corn flourished on this site, formerly called O'Dell's Crossing until 1896, when the Southern Railway stopped to get oak wood for its engines and the community became known as Oakwood.
The east-west corridor, cleared for mule and wagon travel to sustain commerce, cultural and religious life in the region, is named for Andrew Jackson Mundy. Settling in Hall County in 1871, Mundy was a justice of the peace, an organizer of the Farmers Alliance, original partner of the Gainesville National Bank and Hall County Sheriff from 1889-1900. He earned his livelihood from a prosperous grain and wheat mill on Balus Creek named Mundy's Mill. Another mill site in the community, White's Mill, was inundated when Lake Lanier filled during the 1950s.
Mundy Mill Road, named to honor his distinguished life, legacy and business acumen, originally meandered from the Blackshear Place to the Mountain View community, then crossed the railroad and Balus Creek. Its path straightened when the Martin farm was acquired to establish the campus of Gainesville College and Lanier Tech.
Mundy Mill, the thriving commercial destination for area farmers, closed as economic conditions evolved and community growth occurred. Its massive millstone stands as a vivid reminder of the agrarian heyday of the region on the grounds of the Oakwood City Hall.
Historical marker erected as a
community gift by Wal-Mart
May 2007
Friday
April 25th, 2025
10:01PM
