Mairi and I have a strong fascination with Waterford, Virginia. As Civil War historians we knew that it was a town of Union sympathies, however, upon our first visit to the town we were enthralled by its preserved 19th architecture and aura, and by its fascinating history, especially during the Civil War.
The Fight at Waterford was a small skirmish during the American Civil War that took place in Waterford, Virginia on August 27, 1862 between the local partisan cavalry units of White’s Comanches led by Lieutenant Colonel Elijah V. White, fighting for the Confederates, and the Independent Loudoun Rangers, led by Captain Samuel C. Means, fighting for the Union.
The Civil War Fight at Waterford turned at as only a beginning with our fascination with Waterford.
Waterford Baptist Church – Mairi & Dave’s Gallivant Through Virginia and About
The Old Mill of Waterford
The Waterford Mill is a historic, three-story brick structure located at 40105 Main Street in the village of Waterford, Virginia, specifically situated at the north end of Main Street on the north bank of the Catoctin Creek. Built around 1818–1830, this mill is the third to occupy the site originally established by Quaker Amos Janney.
Amos Janney built a log mill on the west side of Catoctin Creek during the 1740s. The site was abandoned later, and a new mill was constructed on the site of the present mill. This second Janney mill probably was destroyed by fire. A new mill was then built by Thomas Phillips.
Thomas Phillips was a prosperous Quaker farmer and businessman in Waterford, Virginia, who acquired the Waterford Mill property in the 1820s, operated a tannery with his partner Asa Moore, and later sold the mill in 1832 to focus on his expansive farm. Born in Philadelphia in 1776, Phillips learned the tanning trade and moved to Waterford, becoming a prominent member of the Quaker community. He partnered with fellow Quaker Asa Moore in a successful tannery on the mill property. After Moore’s death, Phillips acquired the mill and surrounding land, assembling a significant farm, which included the mill site.
Thomas Phillips then sold parts of his property to businessman Samuel Means, an up-and-coming miller, around 1853, with Means later operating the mill, but the mill itself saw several owners before its ruin and eventual sale after the Civil War. Means operated the mill until the Civil War, after which it fell into ruin.
While Samuel C. Means owned the mill in Waterford, Virginia, and sold other properties, specific records indicate he sold vacant lots to blacksmith Robert W. Thomas around 1861; however, the ultimate purchaser or recipient of the mill itself isn’t detailed in these snippets, though it eventually came to the Waterford Foundation after ceasing operations in 1939.
Its location is the north end of Main Street and First Street. Since 1944 it has been owned by the Waterford Foundation which is restoring it. It is a focal point of this National Historic Landmark village. Historically it was a merchant mill powered by a nearby mile-long millrace that diverted water from the Catoctin Creek. We very much enjoyed walking this site. It includes the former head race, mill pond, and tailrace. The head race being where water is diverted from a pond or river into a channel. The channel being headrace. The final channel being the tailrace which carries water away from the water wheel or turbine after it has been used, returning it to the mainstream or river, which serves as the exit route that completes the flow path (headrace to wheel to tailrace) and ensuring efficient water usage for powering the mill’s machinery. It is adjacent to Ball’s Run, a stream that once fed into the millrace.
The mill, which ceased operations in 1939, was a cornerstone of the economic development of Waterford, which was known as “Janney’s Mill” before being renamed.
RESTORATION
The Waterford Mill project began with removing flooring and restoring the building’s stone and brick basement, where the Hurst frame is located. It included rebuilding stone walls, painting the roof, and building new floors in the attic. In addition to stabilization efforts, ensuring the authenticity of every detail was also a priority. Carpenter Beach replaced each of the mill’s windows, crafted by hand by a Carpenter Beach craftsperson. A company craftsman also made gorgeous wooden medallions from oak and walnut placed where the millstones would have been. The project’s detailed masonry work was completed by specialists with hand-mixed mortar approved by the architect to match the building’s original lime mortar.1
WRITTEN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA
Historic American Buildings Survey
Major Eugene Bradbury, District Officer
210 S. Franklin St. Richmond, Va.
1. Architectural character: The Waterford Mill is a brick and clapboard, three and one half stories, three bays wide by three bays deep structure with a gable roof.
2. Condition of fabric: Very good.
B. Description of Exterior:
1. Foundations: Stone.
2. Wall construction: Exterior walls are brick laid in English bond. Although generally in good condition, some areas are in need of repointing. The attic story is dark red painted clapboard at the south wall. Six hooks on dark red painted boards anchor the tie rods; three per side are situated at the north side of the east and west elevations. S-Shaped metal hooks are also placed on the north and south elevations to secure tie rods.
3. Chimneys: A tall brick outside end chimney with two brick corbel course is located on the south wall.
4. Porches, Stoops, Stairways: A large porch with slate floor projects from the north elevation. It is supported by a coursed rubble wall and joins the mill at the first-floor level. A short straight stone flight leads to the porch from ground level on the east side. A recently installed two flight wood stair leads from the porch to the second story entry.
5. Openings:
Doors and doorways: The north elevation has two doors; one each located on the first and second stories in the east bay. Both have six lights on the upper third. The main or south elevation has four doors placed in the central bay of the ground, first, second, and attic stories.
Each door Consists of vertical boards which are divided midway between door sill and door head. Plain, painted white moldings surround the door and support a plain door head. All doors are painted dark red and have painted white trim.
Windows: All windows are double hung sash with painted trim and muntins. The east and west elevations have nine nine-over-six lights. The north elevation has two six-over-six lights at the attic, three nine-over-six lights at the third story, two nine-over-six lights at the second story, one nine-over-six light at the first story, and one nine-over-six light at the cellar. The south elevation has two six-over-six lights at the side bays at the attic, and two nine-over-six lights at the third, second, and first stories. Windows on the east and west facades also have brick lintels. The east and west elevations have six unglazed round-headed openings with brick voussoirs at ground level.
6. Roof:
Shape and covering: The gable roof is covered with flat metal.
Cornice and eaves: A three-brick corbel course serves as a cornice on the east and west elevations.
Dormers: The Waterford Mill has two dormers; one is located on the east half of the gable roof, and the other on the west. Both have double hung sash windows with six-over-six lights, white trim, and dark red clapboard sides.
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES, NOMINATION FORM – STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
Situated in the Loudoun Valley seven miles northwest of Leesburg, the mill town of Waterford remains virtually unchanged from its eighteenth and nineteenth century appearance. Waterford is notable for the great variety of building materials used, including brick, stone, log and frame, as well as for the variety of architectural styles. Especially interesting are the brick mill (circa 1830), the Arch House Row of stone, brick and wood (c.l750); the Camelot School, a two-story log building (c.1800); the neo-classic Baptist Church of 1850; and the romantic Victorian Presbyterian Church of 1882. A major factor in Waterford’s character is the unspoiled open rolling landscape which surrounds the village and enhances its integrity.2
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES, NOMINATION FORM – STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
The oldest settlement in Loudoun County, Waterford began as a small Quaker village about 1730. The first house built within the town limits, that of Asa Moore (c.l733), is still standing. Originally called Milltown because of the small industries there, the name was soon changed to Waterford in honor of Waterford, Ireland. The town was incorporated in 1810, and by 1834 it was a flourishing village of four hundred persons with some seventy houses, a tannery, a chair-maker, and a boot and shoe manufacturer. At one time there was also a woolen factory as well as several stores, a bank and tavern. Through careful private preservation efforts , most of Waterford remains as it was in the nineteenth century.3
- Carpenter Beach, A 19-Century Waterford, Virginia Restoration Is A Labor Of Love ↩︎
- National Register of Historic Places, Nomination Form, Waterford Historic District, Statement of Description Entry ↩︎
- National Register of Historic Places, Nomination Form, Waterford Historic District, Statement of Significance Entry ↩︎