Famous Mill on Glade Creek

Does this mill look familiar? It is no doubt the most-photographed mill in West Virginia, and it has also been painted, drawn, and even stitched in needlepoint. I've seen it on calendars and in books, even on the cover of a book about a family in Virginia. But it was never in Virginia, since it was constructed around 1890, well after West Virginia separated from Virginia in 1861.

I saw pictures of this many times before reading that it was in Babcock State Park. This puzzled me a bit because I had been to that park as a child but had no recollection of the mill. My mother had a special interest in old mills so how had we missed this one?

It turns out that this mill was not in the state park when I visited there as a child. It was constructed there in 1976, which was after we were there. Yes, it looks much older and it is, but it existed elsewhere and was moved here piece by piece. You can read about this on the Babcock State Park website.

The overshot water wheel actually came from a different mill. The Glade Creek Mill still functions. You can buy corn meal ground here in the gift shop across the creek.

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