Wheat Shocks
by Joan Russell
Numerous mills existed in Washington County since the arrival of the early settlers. Some mills were short lived; others have lasted as much as 200 years of continuous operation. The Resources of Tennessee, 1874 listed 52 flour mills in Washington Co.* These were mostly gristmills. No specific effort was made to identify other types of mills.
|
Mill Name |
Approximate Location |
Comment |
| Adams (Worley) Mill | nr TN 107 & Painter Creek Rd. | |
| Allison Mill | Brushy Creek nr Watauga | Also called Star Mill and White Star |
| B and M Milling Co. | Limestone | Leonard Bales and Johnny Mitchel operated the feed mill |
| Bashor Mill | Broylesville | Built abt 1860, 3 story frame with limestone foundation; another earlier mill used the foundation. Later known as Taylor’s Mill or Broylesville Mill. |
| Bashor (Henry) Mill | Johnson City, Denny Mill Rd & Oakland Ave | Built about 1840; still standing in 2007, but in poor condition; also called Knob Creek Roller Mill; used until 1951; currently owned by Dr. Donald Tarr |
| Bashor-Keys Mill | Sulphur Springs, Pleasant Valley on Muddy Creek | 1912 John C Bashor and wife sold to L.B. Bashor; 1916 LL.B. Bashor and wife sold to O.P. Keys and wife; 1912 converted to a roller mill; ran until 1945 |
| Bean (William) Mill | Flourville community on Boones Creek | Built in 1790: helped establish Flourville |
| Bowman Mill | Boones Creek, Flourville community | Built by John Bowman abt 1799, passed on to his sons in 1838; still producing in 1880; also called Flourville Mill |
| Bowman (Dave) Mill | nr Bowmantown Rd & Providence Rd. | grist mill that served for over 100 yrs; 4 storied of hand made bricks in 1833 by Daniel Bowman |
| Brabson Mill (Horace Gray) | nr Bowmantown Rd & Carson Creek Rd | Built in 1811; later owned by the Williams and Squibbs; Horace Gray was the owner when it closed in 1990. |
| Brown’s (Jacob) Mill (Dr. Irwin) | nr Treadway Trail & Bacon Br. Rd. | |
| Brown (Vestal) Mill | Limestone nr Probst Rd. at Greene Co. line | The mill burned |
| Broylesville Mill (J. H. Taylor) | Broylesville | |
| Campbell’s Mill | not on map | Located on Clear Springs Rd., in Greene County, Tennessee |
| Carmichael-Taylor Mill | nr Bowmantown Rd & Armentrout Lane | |
| Carson (Courtney) Mill | Carson Creek nr Armentrout Rd. | |
| Carson (John Ross) Mill | Big Limestone nr Mtn. View Rd. | Was called Mill Creek, then Mill Brook and now Carson Creek |
| Charleston Mill | nr Bowmantown Rd &Old Stage Rd | |
| Cox Mill | nr Elmer Walker Rd. | |
| Cox (Harry) Mill | Boones Creek | |
| Cox (John D.) Mill | Upper Dry Creek community | Cox owned a cotton mill and flourmill |
| Deakins (Jim) Mill | at Locust Mount | |
| Dickison Bros. Mill | Sulphur Springs, Pleasant Valley on Muddy Creek | Formerly Bashor-O.P. Keys Mill; owned by Howard and Oscar Dickison; closed in 1956 |
| Douglas Shed (Charlie Sproles) | Red River, nr Sally Ford Rd. | |
| Dove Mill | Greenwood Dr. & Embreeville Rd. | |
| Dungan (Jeremiah) Mill | Watauga Rd. nr Carter Co. line | Began operation in 1778; now operated by the St. John family |
| Dr. Morgan Mill | Jeroldstown Rd & Tucker Hollow Rd. | |
| Eureka Roller Mill | Little Limestone Creek, Telford | Purchased by W.A. Maloney in 1894, operated until 1986. Building burn 2002. |
| Flourville Mill | Flourville community | Built in 3 phases-1890-1894, 1930s and 1940s; 4 story frame building with pressed metal siding |
| Galloway Mill | nr Floursville Rd. | |
| Garber Mill (Campbell) (Robinson) | Little Cherokee nr Garber/lamar | Began in 1820s; still operating in 1988 |
| Glendale Mill | at Glendale Rd. & Blackley Creek Rd. | Gristmill that ground corn |
| Graham (John) Mill | Keplinger Branch nr Conklin Rd. | Ground flour, meal and cattle feed; millrace still visible 2007 |
| Gray Mill | nr Oakland | not on map; operated between 1870-1900 |
| Grist Mill (McFall) | Boones Creek nr | |
| Hale (Buck) Mill | nr Bristol Hwy, Knob Creek/Austin Springs community | grist mill |
| Hamilton Mill | Fall Branch, nr Ridge Rd. | |
| Hartsell (Isaac W.) Mill | nr Cherokee & Oliver Edwards Rd. | gristmill; operated for over 50 yrs |
| Hyder Mill | Austin Springs Rd. nr Watauga River | |
| Kincheloe Mill | Kendricks Creek, Harmony Rd.&Hunt Rd. | |
| Maden (Lloyd) Mill | Gray | Built in 1913 owered by gasoline engine; became a feed mill |
| Maloney(W. A.) Mill | Little Limestone, Telford, Telford Rd | Also called Eureka Roller Mills (Telford Foundry) |
| Martin (Hacker) Mill | Cedar/Ford Creek nr Gray Sta. Rd. | Built by Dove family abt 1800; operated until 1924 by Alexander Isenberg followed by John Isenberg and sister Dolly Isenberg Campbell until 1940s; Theodore Hacker Martin operated it until 1951 |
| Martin Mill | nr Sulphur Springs Baptist Church | Built in late 1800s, operated by JC Osborne; gristmill and sawmill; later remodeled to a roller mill that ground flour for White Lily Co. of Johnson City |
| Matthews Mill | Little Limestone Ck & Glaze Rd. | Building torn down in 2013. |
| Mauktown Mill | nr TN 107 & Bill Mauk Rd. | |
| May Mill | Telford Rd & McCarty Hollow | |
| Miller (Nat) Mill | Cherokee Creek, off TN 81 | at one time a cotton mill |
| Model Mill | Johnson City, W. Walnut St. | Later known as General Mills |
| Old Mill | Behind Cannon house on Hominy Branch, Washington College | |
| Osborne Mill | Sulphur Springs, West Ridge Rd. | |
| Paris Hilbert Mill | Little Limestone nr Old St Rd 34 | |
| Peter Range-McAfee Mill | Boones Creek | |
| Range (Peter Sr.) Mill | nr E. Oakland Ave & Knob Creek | |
| Ruble Mill | Keplinger Branch, Conklin community | closer to the Nolichucky River than John Graham mill |
| St. John Mill | 3191 Watauga Rd.; Barnes community | Purchased from Henry Bashor by George W. St. John 1866; passed down to son and subsequent heirs; still in operation 2007 |
| Scott (John) Mill | Little Cherokee nr Oliver Edwards Rd. | Supposedly the first gristmill on Cherokee |
| Sevier Mill | Telford, New Victory | |
| Simpson Mill | Little Limestone nr Franklin Heights Rd. | |
| Star Mill (Allison Mill, White Star Mill) | Brushy Creek, 1 mi upsream from Dungan Mill dam; Barnes community | Owners include Henry Bashor (the builder, bef 1860), James M. King & John T. Hodge (1876), Charles G. Lilly (1895), Landon C. Allison (1905), Dr. Preas (1912), Dr. Smathers (closed the mill) |
| Stevenson Mill | Muddy Fork & Keys Dr. | |
| Stunns Mill | on Keplinger Branch or Nolichucky River; SW Conklin community | On an 1828 Washington Co. map |
| Taylor (Charlie) Mill | Sulphur Springs, Clear Fork, nr Shipley Rd. | First turbine water wheel in Sulphur Springs. Also known as Walnut Grove Roller Mill |
| Taylor’s Mill | Little Limestone nr Powell Rd. | |
| Telford Mill | Little Limestone, Telford, Old St Rd 34 | |
| Williams Mill | nr US11E & Opie Arnold Rd. next to Lone Oak Hotel in Limestone | Operated by Williams brothers, maker of Magnolia Flour |
Contributed to the Washington Co. TNGen Web site by Margaret W. Hougland, Sep 2007. Many thanks to W. Eugene and Joyce Cox.
Sources:
Upper East Tennessee Section, Local Planning Assistance Office. Mill Locations, Washington County, Tennessee Map, Rev. 1986.
Washington Co. Historical Association, Joyce and W. Eugene Cox, eds. History of Washington County, Tennessee. Johnson City: Overmountain Press, 2001.
Watauga Association of Genealogists. History of Washington Co. Tennessee 1988 (out of print)
* Cited by Washington Co. Historical Association, Cox and Cox, eds. p. 786.
Brabson-Gray Mill
Photo by Gordon M. Edwards