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Bush Mill Named Virginia Landmark

From staff reports

It remains a symbol of the county's historic past, and now the Bush Mill has been recognized by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources as a Virginia Landmark.

The only restored operational mill in the region, Bush Mill was built between 1896 and 1897 by W.T. Frazier, Stephen Bush and William Bush. Machinery in the mill is intact. Sometimes called Bond Mill in reference to the original owner, S.H. Bond, the present mill replaced an older one that was located at the same site which burned.

According to local sources, the original mill was a log structure built on Amos Branch in the late 1800's and was destroyed by fire on April Fool's Day. Farmers working in nearby fields were reluctant to come help fight the fire when asked because they thought it was an April Fool's joke. After they became aware that the mill was actually on fire, they came to help; but it was too far gone to save it.

Valentine Bush purchased the original mill sometime in the early 1800's and also built a water-powered sawmill upstream and a water powered wool carding machine downstream. The original wooden water wheel was built by Franklin and James Stewart, noted wheelwrights in the region.

At the time the mill was built, Valentine Bush was 88 years old and was assisted by his sons, Stephen and William. Restored in the late 1990s, the 1896 water-powered grist mill uses stones to grind grain into meal and is open to the public during Bush Mill Days held each October. The event is sponsored by the Nickelsville Ruritan Club.

For the past several years, Bob Etherton, Jay Dixon and members of the Ruritan Club have worked to earn the special designation. Their hard work as paid off last Thursday as the Virginia Board of Historic Resources officially approved their application.

A total of 25 new properties were added last week to the Virginia Landmarks Register by the Department of Historic Resources. The addition of Bush Mill brings the county's total to nine properties listed on the state historic registry.

Others currently listed as a Virginia Landmark in Scott County are the Kilgore Fort House, added in 1972; the A.P. Carter birthplace, added in 1975; the Flanary Archaeological Site, added in 1982; the A.P. and Sara Carter House, the A.P. Carter Store, the Maybelle and Ezra Carter House and the Mount Vernon United Methodist Church, all added in 1985; and the Fulkerson-Hilton House, added in 2002.

Others approved for the state designation in Southwest Virginia in addition to Bush Mill include: St. John's Episcopal Church, in Wytheville, during the mid-1870s to early 1880s provided educational and spiritual instruction to black communicants after the Civil War, as part of the Virginia Episcopal Church's mission. In August 1881, black Episcopal minister J.H.M. Pollard preached to St. John's white congregation, then noted as the first time in Virginia that a black clergyman preached to a white Episcopal congregation. An imposing and architecturally-appealing building, built in 1857, St. John's is the oldest standing church in Wytheville and has been in continuous use for weekly church services since its inception.

Whitewood High School, in Buchanan County, opened in 1941, is an important vestige of the educational and social history of the Whitewood community. An up-to-date high school with many modern amenities when it was built, it was among the first high schools in the county offering educational opportunities beyond seventh grade. The school served an important role in the civic life of the community for generations of students, and for their families whose social lives centered there.

DHR officials say listing on the state and national register does provide a property owner with the opportunity to pursue state and federal tax credit rehabilitation improvements to a property. Such tax-credit rehabilitations must comply with federal standards, which are administered in Virginia by the Department of Historic Resources.

During the past few years, Virginia has been a national leader among the 50 states in registering historic sites and districts. The state is also a national leader for the number of tax-credit rehabilitation projects proposed and completed each year. Together the register and tax credit rehabilitation programs have played a significant role in promoting the preservation of the Commonwealth's historic sites and in spurring economic revitalization in many Virginia towns and communities.

A complete list of the new properties added to the Virginia Landmark Registry is available online at www.virginiastar.net

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