Hall Tales, ep. 7: Chicopee village

Gainesville Times

Johnny Vardeman, Kay Scoville and Dale Jaeger take us back to the heydey of Chicopee Village, the mill town built to support the Johnson & Johnson mill that’s now home to Left Nut Brewing Co. on Atlanta Highway.

The tight streets, lofty oaks and close-knit community was home to some well-known Gainesville residents in its day — and the village was a source of much of the town’s blue-collar backbone from the early 1900s until the mill closed. A blog recounts much of the village’s history.

Scoville grew up in the village, and her first memories of life there began during World War II. Jaeger is a landscape architect who led the project to get the village recognized as a national historic district.

In 2017, The Times wrote about attempts to revitalize Chicopee Village, which fell into moderate disrepair in the years after the mill closed.

This episode is sponsored by Jackson Electric Membership Corp.

Hall Tales is a podcast series produced by The Times that explores the history of Hall County from recent events to those beyond living memory. Episodes publish twice a month through December, when the county will celebrate its 200th birthday.

If you’d like more information on the podcast, email [e-mail].