Walk through history . . . mill sites and water power central rappahannock regional library electricity and circuits class 6 cbse


The first dam was built near this site in 1855 by the Fredericksburg Water Power Company. The company purchased the Rappahannock Navigation Company canal system in the early 1850s and converted the system’s primary function from transportation to water power. The water power company sold lots along the canal system and rented water power privileges usually by the horsepower.

Alternately, water from the upper level raceway could electricity in costa rica current be reused after powering the wheels and turbines of the upper level mills. Their tailraces led the water under Caroline Street and into the lower level raceway where it powered other mills. Apparently, this system was used during drought periods when there was not sufficient water reaching the dam of the lower raceway.

The third component of the canal system was a raceway, historically called the canal ditch, which branched off the main canal near the paper mill. The raceway ran around the west side of the city, following the mute of present-day Kenmore Avenue, and ended at Excelsior Mills on the east side of the railroad bridge. The raceway ran underground from a point near the railroad station before powering the water wheel of Excelsior Mills and emptying back into the river.

Wheat and corn were purchased from local farmers who hauled their grain by horse and wagon to the mills in Fredericksburg. Once ground, the finished products were shipped as far as New York City wikipedia electricity generation, Philadelphia, Baltimore and ports in South America. The mills also maintained salesrooms and offices in downtown Fredericksburg where they sold their products.

Thornton argued that Hunter’s dam diverted the water out of its usual courses from your petitioner’s mill, thereby rendering it but little value and making it necessary that your petitioner run his dam across the same to the bank on the other side: The court ruled in Thornton’s favor, finding that no possible injury can arise to any person by [the dam’s]ponding water on the river.

By 1891, the company had been bought by the Ficklen family, owners of Bridgewater Mills. In 1901, a new plant was constructed on the lower raceway on the north side of the Falmouth Bridge in Fredericksburg. The two story, wood frame plant had two Westinghouse dynamos, turned by turbines in the plant’s basement, which furnished power to customers 24 hours a day.


While the original mill was built in 1822, it was continually electricity formulas physics expanded. When a fire severely damaged the structure in 1858, it was quickly rebuilt. By the late 19th century the milling complex consisted of a connected string of buildings including a flour mill, corn mill, warehouse, and grain elevator. Adjoining were cooper shops, stables, millers’ houses and an office.

Sumac grew in abundance around Fredericksburg and people could make money by collecting the leaves and selling them to local dealers. The sumac was either ground, to be used in the process of tanning leather, or extracted as a liquid, used in dyeing textiles. It appears that both processes were carried out at the mill. The mill burned in the late 1890s and was never rebuilt.

The first known account of the mill is from August, 1807, when a local newspaper reported that high river waters resulting from heavy rains damaged the raceway which conveyed water to Hollingsworth’s mill. At this time, it was operated by William Hollingsworth and a Mr. Cooch. Cooch and Hollingsworth operated a grist mill, Rappahannock Forge Mills, further upstream near Falmouth as early as 1802.

This mill was located on the upper raceway, just a quarter mile from Bridgewater Mills. It was owned and operated by J. H. Myer and F. Brulle. Myer was a German who came to this country in 1846 and soon after settled in Fredericksburg. He ran the mill world j gastrointest surg impact factor office and sales room on William Street. Brulle, a Prussian who came to Fredericksburg in about 1850, ran the mill.

The mill burned in 1876, but was immediately rebuilt. The new mill building was brick, four stories tall, and had a metal roof for fire protection. Eight runs of mill stones powered by three turbines had the capacity of producing 150 barrels of flour and 200 bushels of meal per day. Fifty horsepower of water power were required to run the mill.

The silk throwing mill wound or twisted raw silk into thread before it was sent to be woven by silk manufacturers. Imported primarily from Italy, the raw silk was first washed and dried, then spun by the nimble fingers of the female operatives …kept busy tying the delicate fibre when broken, and finally wound or doubled into skeins of thread.

About 1910, entrepreneur Frank Jay Gould purchased the Fredericksburg gas in oil pan Water Power Company. Soon after, he established the Spotsylvania Power Company and built Power House Number 1. The plant utilized the canal and dam of the old water power company, providing the city with the lowest rates for electric lights, heat and power on the Atlantic Seaboard, from Maine to Florida.

In April 1926, the Fredericksburg plants were sold to the Virginia Electric Power Company. In November of that year, a power line between Richmond and Fredericksburg was opened, connecting the plant with other areas served by VEPCO. This ensured the city adequate power in times of drought, while excess power could be carried to areas farther south in the company’s system.

During the Battle of Fredericksburg, the mill building was occupied by Union Troops and much of the mill’s machinery and part of the building were destroyed. After the war, the mill was repaired and new machinery installed. However, the new owner, Levi A. Beardsley, soon sold the mill to the New York and Fredericksburg Cane Fibre Company. The firm shipped reed cane fiber from the Dismal Swamp near Norfolk.

After Marye’s death in 1866, the mill changed ownership a number of times, in several instances falling into the hands of northern investors who hired local millers to run the operation. C. H. Pettit was one such miller, who worked at the mill since boyhood and went on to become a partner in the business. Pettit eventually became sole owner of the enterprise.

The mill consisted of two buildings, a wooden warehouse and a brick mill building connected by a single story, wooden passageway. It was powered by an overshot water wheel, fed by the raceway extending h gas l gas from the paper mill (see Kenmore Avenue raceway). Excess water was channeled around the wheel by way of a waste way which emptied back into the Rappahannock River.