The Friends of Colvin Run Mill
Welcome You to Our Website
Friends of Colvin Run Mill (FOCRM) support the work of the Colvin Run Mill Historic Site, a Fairfax County Park.
The beautifully restored mill is the star attraction, a working example of 19th century water powered milling technology, The miller's house, general store, educational center, picnic grounds, gardens, and nature trail are sure to please those interested in history, technology, food, and the outdoors.
We look forward to welcoming you and your family to this impressive slice of Northern Virginia history and landscape.
This website introduces you to FOCRM and its Board of Directors (Friends), our activities (In Gear), new developments and videos (Hot Grits), explains how to join and support FOCRM (Be a Friend), displays great pictures of the site (Fine Grain Pics), provides information on other historic mills in the area (Old Mills), and a barrel full of other super fine stuff!
History
George Washington didn't sleep here but he owned the land which he thought was a good "mill seat." It had water for power, white oaks for the water wheel and gears, a steep slope for an over-shot water wheel, and was close to the Potomac River and on the Leesburg/Alexandria Turnpike so mill products could be transported to Alexandria for sale and on onward shipment to England.
To watch a fantastic video of how the Fairfax County Park Authority lovingly restored the mill click the Hot Grits link below.
Technology
Within a decade of Washington's passing the mill was built incorporating the latest and new technology. Innovator Oliver Evans would not get rich on his new devices, but they made milling more efficient, grinding more product with less labor.
See how simple machines made work easier in the mill and how that technology is used today in the Air and Space Museum by clicking on Hot Grits.
Food
Colvin Run Mill has ground grits and flour for nearly 130 years. In the late 1800's the mill moved away from buhr stones to use steel rollers. The Colvin Run Roller Mills shipped white flour as far as Ohio, New York, and Maine but kept one stone to grind "health flour" for the locals - whole wheat flour.
The restored mill has the original three mill-stone configuration.
Today you can buy stone ground wheat flour, cornmeal, and grits at the mill's general store. The link below takes you to the Fairfax County Park Authority Colvin Run Mill Park General Store.
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Our quarterly newsletter - Grist from the Mill - will keep you up to date on activities and events