Jed Hotchkiss, Stonewall Jackson’s mapmaker and co-producer of the Augusta County Atlas in 1885 after the Civil War, called Middle River the “Chief River" of Augusta County.
Virginia has three Great Rivers that trace their start back to Augusta County—the James, the Shenandoah, and the Potomac. No water flows into Augusta County… it only flows out. Of the three rivers in Augusta County— the South, Middle and North Rivers— Middle River is the longest, the highest in starting elevation, the largest in volume, and the farthest south.
Native Americans used the Middle River dating back 10,000 years. There is evidence of encampments, temporary settlement, mounds, and hearth sites.
Since settlement by Europeans, the area was used for farming, distilleries, tanneries and mills. Jed Hotchkiss wrote, “The Middle River of the Shenandoah, in Augusta, furnishes a good illustration of the character and condition of the streams of the whole Valley in reference to their adaptation to manufacturing or irrigating purposes… Over its distance it has fallen 1,000 feet all of which can be utilized for the volume of water at its very course is ample for turning a mill...”
Want to learn more? Check out
The Mills of Augusta County
by Janet and Earl Downs, with Nancy Sorrells. Purchase Book.
A Brief History of Middle River
by Nancy Sorrells
Knightly Mill near New Hope, was owned by the Cline family in the 1920s and converted to create electrical generation used by Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCO), now known as Dominion Energy Virginia.
Augusta Roller Mill near Verona was built in 1867 and at its zenith produced 150 barrels flour per day.
Knightly Mill, 1927
Augusta Roller Mill
Below is the Cline and Wampler Mill showing men using a seine net to catch fish.
Mill at Ft. Defiance
Mill at Ft. Defiance
Mill at Ft. Defiance
Frank's Mill (also known as Shutterlee's Mill) was owned by the Hanger family in the early 1900s. The dam washed out in 1971. German immigrant Shutterlee owned the water rights. This mill is still standing.
Frank's Mill, also known as Shutterlee's Mill
Frank's Mill, also known as Shutterlee's Mill, 1912
Below is Palmer’s Mill. In 1870 a farmer, Samuel Frame, was warned by a premonition in a dream to remove his wheat from the mill—which he did—and the very next day a flood destroyed the mill. His gravestone captured the story.
Palmer's Mill
Finally, we end with Old Red Mill and some other various photos of the River.
Old Red Mill, 1892
~ Nancy Sorrells
FOMR Member and Historian
