Penicks Gristmill

This mill is known as the Deardorff/Patterson/Penick's Mill after a number of owners. The stone mill was built in the German tradition by the... more

by Norma Brandsberg

Title

Penicks Gristmill

Artist

Norma Brandsberg

Medium

Photograph

Description

This mill is known as the Deardorff/Patterson/Penick's Mill after a number of owners. The stone mill was built in the German tradition by the Deardorff family. When I passed by this gem, I didn't know any history and was not able to find anything on the Internet, so visited the tiny Bedford historical society, located in Bedford, Virginia to do some research on the mill.

In 1795, Reuben Ewing sold 400 acres of land, south of the fork of the Big Otter River, to Peter Deardorff, who had come from Pennsylvania with his family to get away from cold winters. The Deardorff family were pacifists of German Baptist faith. The male members saw service in the Revolutionary War as wagoners. The family applied to the Justices of the County for a permit to build a sawmill on the property and were required to compensate an owner across the river for damages as a result of the dam permit. So it appears the mill dates back to sometime around 1795.

In 1818, William R. Jones, a citizen and sheriff in the area, petitioned to build another mill downstream from the "Upper Mill" to build a gristmill and sawmill on adjoining property 8/10 of a mile away.

The first mill is now known as Penick's Mill or the Upper Penick's Mill. The second mill location came to be called "Lower Penick's Mill."

The third owner, Samuel Patterson lll, son of General Thomas Patterson of the Revolutionary War was the first of his family to live in Bedford County, moving from Pennsylvania. He bought a large parcel of land from the Jones and Deardorff families to graze sheep. He bought the land of both the "Upper and Lower" mills for that purpose and turned one of the mills into a "Fulling Mill" for making threads and cloth. Patterson operated both mills for over 30 years.

Penick's Mill was mainly used as a flour mill under the brand name "Shepherdale.". The brand was known for top quality gristmill and Shepherdale flour.

In 1920, Charles Morgan purchased the Penick's Mill on one acre of land. He was the last to operate the mill as a business.

The source of the water has since been moved across the road, so no water except a small stream is currently on the property.

This information has been taken from the book, "Mills of Bedford County."

This photo of the old mill was photographed by me in an original detailed photo version and also in a version that mimics a painting, in impressionist style.

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Uploaded

September 3rd, 2019