In 1855, Anthony Hutchins and a group of local citizens built a two-story cotton mill of handmade bricks, fired in Early County, on the north side of Harrod's Creek. Known as the Early County Manufacturing Company, it was constructed to spin the cotton produced in the area and was powered by the falls on Harrod's Creek. Thread from the factory was sold to the W.C Bradley Company in Columbus, GA. The mill operated for two decades before closing in 1876. Trespassers burned the abandoned structure on March 17, 1927. Over time, the name of the creek changed from Harrod's Creek to Old Factory Creek.