An 1882 Augusta Canal textile mill built on the ruins of the Confederate Powder Works, where weaver Maude Williamson was shot by a co-worker in 1906—and where workers still report her apparition in the weaving room.
1717 Goodrich St, Augusta, GA 30901
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Exterior viewable from Augusta Canal towpath; building is privately leased with commercial tenants
Access
Wheelchair OK
Canal towpath is paved; building exterior visible from towpath
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1882 · Confederate Powder Works Site · Augusta Canal Industrial Heritage · 1906 Workplace Murder · Victorian Industrial Architecture
Construction of Sibley Mill began in June 1880 on a site along the Augusta Canal that had been occupied since the Civil War by the Confederate Powder Works refinery—one of the largest gunpowder manufacturing complexes in the Confederacy. The refinery was demolished after the war; approximately half a million bricks from the old Powder Works were purchased for five dollars per thousand to build the new mill, integrating Confederate-era material directly into the structure.
Architect Jones S. Davis designed the mill as a 528-foot-long, three-story, 24,000-spindle factory. Named for Josiah Sibley, an Augusta cotton broker and civic leader who was central to the mill's financing, it became one of the most productive textile operations on the Augusta Canal. The canal itself provided the hydraulic power that drove the machinery.
At its peak, Sibley Mill employed hundreds of workers, including women who operated weaving machines alongside men. The weaving room was a large open floor with dozens of looms running simultaneously—loud, dangerous, and closely supervised. Workers moved between machines and were expected to keep production running.
On October 20, 1906, Arthur Glover entered the weaving room and shot Maude Williamson, a weaver who had ended her relationship with him. Glover later confessed that he killed her because she had broken off the affair. Williamson died at the scene. Glover was arrested and the case was covered in regional newspapers including the Charlotte Observer.
Textile manufacturing at Sibley Mill ceased in 2006. The Augusta Canal Authority, which owns the canal and its hydropower infrastructure, has continued to operate the mill's power generation equipment. Since 2016 the building has been leased to Cape Augusta, LLC for mixed-use commercial development; current tenants include technology and communications firms.
Sources
The haunting tradition at Sibley Mill centers entirely on Maude Williamson, whose murder on the weaving floor in 1906 left a documented imprint in local memory. Workers employed at the mill through the late 20th century reported seeing a female figure moving among the weaving machines or standing in the areas where the looms once ran. The accounts are consistent in their detail: a woman in period work clothing appearing in the space where Williamson was killed, sometimes described as looking directly at the witness before vanishing.
In 2015, Season 3 Episode 4 of the Travel Channel series Ghost Asylum featured Sibley Mill as one of its investigation locations. The Tennessee Wraith Chasers team investigated the mill and documented claims of activity concentrated in the former weaving room. The IMDB listing for the episode gives it a 7.9 rating from viewers. The mill was promoted in connection with the episode as 'one of the most haunted locations in the South,' though that characterization reflects promotional framing rather than documented history.
The WRDW News 12 Augusta station covered ghost stories from Sibley Mill in a segment archived by PSIFiles, interviewing former workers about their experiences with unexplained sounds and sightings in the building. The Augusta Museum of History incorporated the 1906 murder into its Museum Escape program 'Murder at the Mill,' which uses the documented case as its narrative framework.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Sibley Mill sits along the Augusta Canal and is visible from the National Heritage Area towpath trail. The 528-foot-long Victorian mill building is one of the largest surviving 19th-century industrial structures in Augusta. The Augusta Canal Authority owns the hydropower equipment; commercial tenants occupy the interior.
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