Historic Old Mill District Dam
N 38° 19.204 W 077° 28.508
18S E 283622 N 4244227
This concrete dam, built in 1907 on the Rappahannock River in Fredericksburg, replaced an older one and was said to be state-of-the-art.
Waymark Code: WM28CJ
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 09/21/2007
Views: 46
Fredericksburg is located at the falls of the Rappahannock River - the point where the flat coastal plain meets the rocky piedmont to the west. This is where the river becomes unnavigable - rocky rapids and shallow waters make its channel impassable to vessels.
However, this is where the river has its maximum water power potential. The fall of the rapids over the piedmont creates a great amount of water power which could be harnessed to turn water wheels. The resulting energy was used to run mill machinery.
Therefore, Fredericksburg was always a favorable location for milling. The river provided valuable water power as well as an important transportation link for receiving raw materials and shipping finished products. Prior to the Civil War, most of the city's mills were owned and operated by local investors.
About 1720, Francis Thornton, Sr., erected a grist mill which is said to be Fredericksburg's first milling enterprise.
In July 1783, Francis Thornton III extended the mill's dam all the way across the river to the opposite bank. (Info from HistoryPoint.org
)
Today, little can be found about the exact history of this dam. A display on site states that it replaced a dam dated back to the 1800's. The dam still exists near the site of Thornton's Mill. Both are located in the Historic Old Mill District of Fredericksburg.