Milton was known as "Hell Town" then. It was wild and rowdy. The mill workers went there on Saturday night and you did not see Ladies out and about. Very rough area. Most of the mills were around Bagdad and across Escambia Bay in the north east Pensacola area known as Ferry Pass. Very busy place. When the Confederate troops were leaving Pensacola when the Union pretty much obliterated Ft McRee and damaged Barrancas, a detachment of Confederate troops went along the mill route and burned them all to the ground. They rebuilt after the war and lumber was big business,but the'd not gotten into replanting so it was due to end at some point. It did. Just up the road from my home, is the other area with sawmills. Millview. I drive that route on Perdido Bay when I go to work. I love the old pilings that show at low tide. Many believe they were old piers destroyed in different 'cains'. They were the mills,built over the water. My Helton's had one in Millview. Probably the only 'legal' business enterprise they had too. Most of my ancestors who came here after the CW were employed at one of the mills in Millview. It was a job market that "boomed".
UWF's Archaeology teams have restored a large part of the Arcadian Mill in the Milton area and it's open to the public. The railroad also gave a long stretch of track they were no longer using and it's a hiking/bike trail. People still find CW era stuff just washing up after a rain up there.
Milton has also been known as "Scratch Ankle" but that is a nickname used by many Gulf Coast towns. The Scratch Ankle Festival is pretty neat. Said to be called that because of all the 'briars' that grab the ankles if you don't watch where you step but most of us believe the older version. Sandy soil is a haven for Fleas. That's the real 'scratch' part of it.
Pam