Aldie Mill is a water mill in

Aldie, Virginia Aldie is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located between Chantilly and Middleburg in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. The historic village of Aldie is located on the John Mosby Highway (U.S. Route 50) in a ...

. Built shortly after 1804 to grind grain using the waters of the

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...

, it retains much of its original machinery and is one of the best-preserved mills in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

History

Charles F. Mercer, a lawyer, Virginia legislator and military officer, obtained the right to dam the Little River and to build a mill in 1804. He built a house for himself across the

Little River Turnpike State Route 236 (SR 236) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from U.S. Route 29 in Virginia, U.S. Route 29 and U.S. Route 50 in Virginia, US 50 in Fairfax, Virginia, Fairfax east to Virginia State ...

, calling the complex "Aldie Manor," after Mercer's supposed ancestors' Aldie Castle in Scotland. The village that grew around the complex was named Aldie in 1810. Mercer's father, James Mercer, had operated a tub mill at the location from about 1764. The new mill was built between 1807 and 1809 by William Cooke, who worked for Mercer under an

indenture An indenture is a legal contract that reflects an agreement between two parties. Although the term is most familiarly used to refer to a labor contract between an employer and a laborer with an indentured servant status, historically indentures we ...

contract. Cooke built the mill, granary miller's house and store, as well as the now-disappeared distillery, blacksmith shop, sawmill, cooperage and wheelwright's shops, in return for a half-share in the mill operation. The original mill machinery was a system patented and manufactured by Oliver Evans. Much of the machinery, along with the original wood water wheels, was replaced at the beginning of the twentieth century. Mercer bought Cooke's share in the operation for $11,250 in 1816, leasing the mill to tenant operators. Mercer sold the mill in 1835 to John Moore, whose descendants operated the mill until 1971, through six generations.

Description

Aldie Mill Historic District C - Sarah Stierch

The main portion of the brick mill building is two stories, with two loft levels under the roof. It is flanked by a one-story section on the east and a two-story portion to the west. The milling machinery inside is powered by two overshot

water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the kinetic energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a large wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with numerous b ...

s, arranged one after the other. The historic district surrounding the mill includes two houses, the Mercer House and the Miller's House. The Mercer House overlooks the mill. It is a two-story

Federal style Federal-style architecture is the name for the classical architecture built in the United States following the American Revolution between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was influenced heavily by the works of And ...

house, covered in stucco and altered over time. The Miller's House, a two-story brick structure, is behind the mill between the Little River and the millrace. The Miller's House has been expanded to the rear. Other buildings in the complex include a granary dating to the period 1809–1816 and a smaller "county mill" structure, used to make

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

. The village of Aldie grew up around the mill after its construction.

Park

The complex is part of the Aldie Mill Historic Park, operated by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, and is open to the public. The metal millwheels have been restored and operate the mill's machinery. It was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on September 15, 1970.

References

External links

Aldie Mill Historic Park

at the Journey Through Hallowed Ground {{authority control Grinding mills on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Loudoun County, Virginia Historic districts in Loudoun County, Virginia Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area Mill museums in Virginia Museums in Loudoun County, Virginia Parks in Loudoun County, Virginia Watermills in the United States Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Brick buildings and structures in Virginia