The Waterford Mill
Amos Janney's enterprising son Mahlon inherited the first mill in 1747 and soon improved it. By 1762 he had built a new, larger mill of of stone and wood on this site. The brick structure here today replaced Mahlon's mill in the 1820s.
The surrounding Loudoun Valley produced the grain that was ground to flour for export to Baltimore and Washington and beyond. By the mid 1800s, access to these markets was greatly improved by the C&O Canal and the B&O Railroad, which passed along the Potomac River ten miles north of Waterford.
In the 1880s, miller J.F. Dodd put up a three-story frame and sheet-metal addition at the rear of the mill, doubling its size. He also modernized its machinery, introducing "roller" technology to supplement the old grindstones.
The mill operated well into the 20th century but could not survive the modern competition and the Great Depression. Milling finally ceased in 1939. The machinery and the rear addition were eventually sold for scrap.
The newly formed Waterford Foundation purchased the building in 1943 and has used it since to host the annual Waterford Homes Tour and Crafts Exhibit. In 1997, a set of roller-process machinery similar to that used during the mill's last 50 years of production was donated to the Waterford Foundation. It has been installed in the building as a static display.
Marker is at the intersection of Old Wheatland Road (County Route 698) and Bond Street, on the right when traveling east on Old Wheatland Road.
Courtesy hmdb.org
