Robey's Mill Miller's House

Here follows an excerpt from the 1970 Fairfax County Master Inventory of Historic Sites which contained entries from the Historic American Buildings Survey Inventory:

Hope Park Miller's House:
The land on which this structure was built was once a part of the Hope Park estate, once owned by Edward Payne, and later by Dr. David Stuart, according to a title search by attorney James Keith.

The house is three stories high, built into the side of a hill. There are exposed log rafters in almost every room, including the attic, finished with dark shellac or varnish. Part of the living room floor is done in large old bricks, probably because the area is over the underground stream of water which surfaces in the springhouse immediately in front of the residence. The interior of the stone wall built into the hill is exposed in the living room and painted white.

In a letter to the recorder, dated June 26, 1969, former owner Harold M. Willcox stated that the buildings were in rundown condition when he bought the place in 1951. He added a small wing for the furnace, upstairs closets, and bathroom, and plastered the beams. He claims that the restoration of the house at this time was more a matter of point and polish than of change.

The building complex is of a type rapidly disappearing throughout the area. Besides the main residence, there are three log outbuildings: the springhouse, servants' quarters, and a smokehouse. There is also a building which was once a small store known as the "Hope Park Trading Post" and a small flour mill, equipped except from the water wheel.

The mill has had many names, usually the name of the miller, who would probably have resided in this house: Barnes' Mill, Robey's Mill, Stafford Mill, Piney Branch Mill, Hope Park Mill, and Foxes' Mill.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Clio Foundation website as written by Laurie Paonessa:

Introduction:
Robey's Mill was built by Edward Payne or David Stuart sometime between 1790 and 1804. Also known as Piney Branch Mill or Hope Park Mill, Robey's Mill is a 3-story frame building on a stone foundation on the west side of the Piney Branch stream. The Barnes family operated the gristmill from the 1830s to the 1860s, and one son became a Mosby's Ranger during the Civil War. The miller's office on the southwest corner of the second floor contains carvings made by both Union and Confederate soldiers. The mill was a Confederate outpost. "No. 3" during the winter of 1861 to 1862 but was in an area mainly controlled by the Union after this. The mill's most prosperous era was under the ownership of the Robey family from 1886 to 1905. When operating at full capacity, the gristmill could produce 16 bushels of fine stone-ground flour in a day.

Backstory and Context:
Also known as Piney Branch Mill or Hope Park Mill, Robey's Mill is a 3-story frame building on a high stone foundation on the west side of Piney Branch stream. The gristmill likely was built between 1790 and 1804 by either Edward Payne or David Stuart. The property was part of a plantation named Hope Park. Stuart was the husband of the widow of Martha Custis Washington's son. Stuart offered the mill for sale in 1815. A miller named John Barnes Sr. bought the mill in 1837 and trained his eldest son, "Young Jack," the trade. Young Jack (Jack H. Barnes) inherited the mill and miller's house from his father's estate in 1853.

Jack H. Barnes became one of the band of infamous Confederate guerrillas known as "Mosby's Rangers" during the Civil War and was captured three times. The miller's office on the southwest corner of the second floor contains wall carvings made by both Union and Confederate soldiers during the war. Fairfax County saw repeated occupations by both sides during the war. The mill was a Confederate outpost "No. 3" during the winter of 1861 to 1862 but was in an area mainly controlled by the Union after this. Family history tells of Union soldiers raiding the mill property and confiscating a pig that was one of the pets of a Barnes daughter. The child and one of the family's enslaved servants went to the Union camp and successfully pleaded for the safe return of the pig.

The mill property was sold at public auction in 1869 to James Fox. The mill changed hands to a Mr. Summers in 1884 and to Frank Robey in 1886. Robey's ownership was a period of prosperity with the mill sometimes operating daily except Sunday; he also housed a general store on the ground floor. Frank Robey's brother, George, was the mill's stone dresser. George's son, Major Robey, ran the mill from 1904 to 1905. At capacity, the mill would produce about 16 bushels of fine stone ground flour per day. After Major Robey married, he moved from the area in 1905 and the mill ceased operations. Fraank Robey died the following year.

A Mr. Stafford purchased the mill in 1930 and made major renovations. However, the mill only operated occasionally in the 1930s, as a demonstration of the milling process, and has not run since. Photos taken of the building in the 1930s show a water wheel around 18 feet in diameter. The original milldam was a crib dam constructed of 15-foot-long pine logs with the area between the logs filled with natural rock. The millrace was about 70 feet long and fed the water into a flume 20 feet above the ground.

In 1951, a Mr. Wilcox bought the property and attempted to repair the buildings but the cost was prohibitive. David McGrath purchased the mill in 1963 and replaced the original board and batten siding. The mill was listed as a Fairfax County historic site in 1969, part of a county overlay historic district in 1980, and on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Part of its significance is the survival of the ca. 1800 mill and three wood frame related buildings: the miller's house, smokehouse and springhouse, all clustered on the north side of the road. The miller's house has twentieth-century additions and the mill has had frame additions that were visible in 1930s HABS photographs removed. The property is currently in private hands and is not open to the public.


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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:

The address is 12124 Pope’s Head Road (route 654) Fairfax, Virginia. Take route 123 west, through Fairfax City to route 654-Pope’s Head Rd. Turn right and proceed to the mill, which will be on the right hand side. Robey’s Mill is located just off route 123 to the west. This mill is also known as Piney Branch Mill and Hope Park Mill.

Robey’s Mill is located on the west bank of Piney Branch stream near Popes Head Road. It is a small 3-storey timber frame building, which was built on high stone. The siding was covered with circular sawn vertical clapboards. The original roof was wood shingles but this has been replaced by asphalt roofing. The water wheel has been removed but pictures taken 1936 showed the wheel to be around 18 ft in diameter and to have 12 spokes. This water wheel powered 2 runs of millstones, which are located on the second floor. The original dam was made of 15-foot long pine logs. The space between the logs was filled with natural rock. The millrace was about 65-70 feet long and it carried the water through the flume, which was 20 feet above the ground level.

The ground floor contains the power machinery, sifting or bolting area, and also an area for bagging and storage. Today one sees the wheel axle, power gears, greater face gear, lantern gears, bridgetree and brayer, sifter and various pulleys. The floor is also made of circular sawn random width planks set on 6 x 10’s laid on a dirt sub floor. The stairs leading to the second floor are 10 feet deep and some of the steps are the original steps.

On the second floor there are two runs of monolithic 4-foot buhr stones, a hopper, stone crane with bales, and grain chutes. The miller’s office was located in the southwest corner and contains many carvings made by civil war soldiers from both sides. Some of the doors have the original hinges and latches. The third floor was used for storage.

Edward Payne probably built the mill. If not Payne, Then David Stuart was the builder. The mill was built before 1804 because at this time Stuart was planting crops of wheat in the late 1700’s. The mill was probably built somewhere between 1790 and 1804. In 1815, Stuart listed the mill for sale. By 1826 the mill was in need of many repairs. In 1837, John Barnes Sr. bought the mill. He was a miller by trade. His eldest son, Young Jack, was taught to be a miller. In 1853, the estate of Barnes Sr. was divided among his children. It is known that Young Jack inherited the lot with the mill and the miller’s house. However, the managing of the farm property took much of his time so less and less time was spent on milling. The Civil War had a great impact on the estate. His economic fortune was insecure due to the war and also his mishandling of public funds. So in 1869 the mill property was sold at public auction.

James Fox who also over extended his finances bought the property and the property was then sold to Summers in 1884. By 1886 Frank Robey had purchased the mill lot. The mill was the most prosperous during Robey's ownership. Frank Robey’s nephew, Major Robey, operated the mill from 1904-05. Frank’s brother, George who was the Major’s father, was the mill’s stone dresser. The mill ran everyday of the week except Sunday. If the mill ran at capacity, it would produce 15-16 bushels of fine stone ground flour daily. Frank Robey also operated a small general store, which was located on the ground floor of the house. In 1905 Major Robey got married and moved away shortly thereafter. The mill ceased to operate, but Frank Robey retained ownership.

In 1930, Stafford bought the mill and went to considerable expense to renovate the mill. In 1932 the mill did operate but just to give demonstrations. When the mill was sold in 1951 to Wilcox, the buildings were falling down and the millrace was overgrown. Wilcox attempted to repair the buildings but the expense was just too great. The mill has never operated since this time. In 1963, David McGrath bought the mill.