Keene's Mill (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this roadside historical marker:

Keene’s Mill:
A saw and grist mill built by James Keene between 1796 and 1800, when it was expanded, stood on the north side of the original Keene Mill Road right-of-way just to the east of this marker. The mill served the surrounding farm community for approximately sixty years and provided the landmark after which Old Keene Mill Road was named. Two mill races are all that remain on the site.

Marker Erected 1998 by Fairfax County History Commission.


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Regarding Keene’s Mill: The mill was on Pohick Creek near where Old Keene Mill Road crosses it, just a short distance west of the Rolling Road.

Here follows an excerpt from the "Grist Mills of Fairfax County and Washington, DC" written by Marjorie Lundegard in 2009 for the Friends of Colvin Run Mill:

KEENE MILL SITE:
This mill was located six miles from the town of Burke, on the north side of Old Keene Mill Road, just after crossing Pohick Run. This mill was probably built in the early 1800’s or late 1700’s. This was one of the largest and best mills in Fairfax County. Farmers from the lower end of the county came to this mill. The mill remained in the Keene family estate until it was sold to Presley Baker and Archibald Hall in 1838. In 1849, a son of the original Keene, William H. Keene, acquired the mill property from his father. The father died soon after William acquired the property. The brothers and sisters of William sued to have the will annulled. In 1852 the will was annulled. However, in 1853, William tried to recoup some of his financial losses and he claimed that he should be awarded $750 for the managing of his father’s affairs. By the time the estate was finally settled, William was in jail for the murder of Lewis Hall. In 1857, the mill property was sold to George Chichester for the sum of $450.

After 1865 when the owner died, the mill ceased operating and slowly began to fade into the past and eventually collapsed—only a memory. In 1971, hurricane Agnes knocked out the small bridge over Pohick Creek.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Springfield Things blog written by Wes Clark:

Murder at the Old Keene Mill, 1855
I first came across Jack Hiller's 1990's article about the Murder at the Old Keene Mill in a scholarly Virginia historical journal of some kind - I forget the name. The article is fascinating and very well-researched, however, and I've never forgotten it. I recently made the acquaintance of Lynne Garvey-Hodge, a Fairfax County History Commissioner, who also knew of it.

"Murder at the Mill: My Search for William H. Keene" by Jack Lewis Hiller

Summary: On October 27th, 1855, Lewis Q. Hall of the local Hall family was attacked by William H. Keene (owner of the Old Keene Mill which the street in Springfield and Burke is named after). Keene used a knife; alcohol was involved. Hall died, and Keene was tried and condemned to hang on 30 January 1857. Virginia's Governor Wise changed the punishment to ten years in prison in Richmond. We lose track of William H. Keene due to records being destroyed as a result of the Civil War.

The article is fascinating and gives an interesting account of some local 19th C. history most residents are unaware of these days.

Whenever I drive by the site of the Old Keene Mill - at the intersection of Old Keene Mill Road and the Pohick Creek, I think about the events that took place there in 1855!