Historic Role

Woodson’s Mill, first built in the 1790s, is an operating example of early American innovation and agricultural dynamism. It uses the water-powered grain processing system developed by Delaware inventor Oliver Evans, who received the nation’s third patent for the idea, and demonstrates how labor-saving processes fundamentally altered business enterprises during the Industrial Revolution.

The mill also provides a window into Virginia’s role in the expansion of American agriculture that eventually made the United States a leading global farm product exporter.  In the years immediately following American independence, there was unprecedented growth in flour manufacturing. Virginia and nearby states possessed the necessary natural resources of land, climate, and waterpower. Canals and passable roads were under development. Most importantly, world market demand was expanding in Europe, the Caribbean, and South America.

America financed much of its early industrial growth through the export of commodities such as flour (second only to cotton). Most of the flour came from country mills such as Woodson’s. Though it was a comparatively small producer, the history of the mill provides valuable educational lessons about early American commerce, the key role of hydropower, and how agriculture shaped our country.