Mark of the Potter

Mark of the Potter is the oldest continuously operating craft shop in Georgia, housed in a 1930s grist mill right on the Soque River in Clarkesville. The building straddles the river, and you can watch the water rush underneath through glass panels in the floor. Since 1969, the mill has been home to handcrafted pottery and crafts from more than 30 local artisans.

The gallery fills two floors of the old mill with functional stoneware - mugs, bowls, vases, platters - alongside blown glass, jewelry, and other handmade crafts. On most days you can watch a potter at work on the wheel, which is especially good if you have kids who have never seen clay thrown. The observation deck overlooks the Soque River, and you can feed the trout that gather in the current below the mill. The waterwheel and original mill infrastructure are still visible. Admission is free; you just browse and buy what catches your eye.

The Soque River has powered mills on this site since the 1820s. Joseph Hill built the first mill here around 1821, processing cornmeal for the farming communities of northeast Georgia. The Hill family ran it for about a century before business declined in the 1920s. The current building, known as Grandpa Watts' Grist Mill, was built in 1931 and continued grinding grain until the late 1960s. In 1969, new owners converted it into a pottery shop, and it has been operating as Mark of the Potter ever since. The building sits along Scenic Highway 197, one of the most scenic drives in Habersham County, making it an easy stop on the way to or from the lakes and mountains to the north.