Near Dickensonville in Russell County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Jessee’s Mill
Photographed By J. J. Prats, October 18, 2015
1. Jessee’s Mill Marker
Jessee's mill is 2.5 miles north on Jessee’s Mill Road. The first grindstone mill, mortarless dam, and millrace were built before 1794. John Jessee, Revolutionary War musician and infantryman, purchased the mill and lands in 1724. Handmade wooden machinery was installed before 1814. Grandson Andrew “Jack” Jessee built The Brick Home in 1878 and in 1890 converted the mill to three stories and automated roller process machinery. The mill closed in 1932. The Mill Creek community also included the church, school, blacksmith and general store.
John, wife Frankey Lea and some of their 15 children are buried one mile east-northeast of the mill At 36° 55' 45" N, 82° 09' 23" W. Most American Jessees are their descendants.
Erected 2004 by Jessee Historical Foundation.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Notable Buildings. A significant historical year for this entry is 1794.
Location. 36° 53.026′ N, 82° 9.296′ W. Marker is near Dickensonville, Virginia, in Russell County. Marker is on Virginia Route 71 near Jessees Mill Road (County Route 645), on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Cleveland VA 24225, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, measured as
this page online
Also see . . . Jessee’s Mill. Virginia Department of Historic Resources website entry:
The earliest part of the mill is a weatherboarded two-story, one-room structure of massive hardwood logs, hand hewn on two sides and V-notched at the corners, set upon an embanked foundation of dry-laid, roughly cut and uncut stone. The entire log structure now comprises the basement of the existing mill building. It was rectangular in plan, measuring 18 ft. by 30ft., and was proportionally quite tall in its original form, with at least two stories and an attic space. It had window openings on the first and second levels on the north and south elevations, but none on the east elevation. Early-period sawn weatherboards, untapered and irregular in both length and width, survive only on the east elevation. The other two sides have c.1897 un-beaded yellow-poplar weatherboards that match the upper floors of the enlarged structure. Many
Photographed By J. J. Prats, October 18, 2015
2. Jessee’s Mill Marker
Like many other gristmills of the period, Jessees Mill is now four stories tall in order for the milling process to use gravity to full advantage. The c.1897 section of the mill added several times to the building’s mass. It consists of a light balloon frame with heavy corner posts and diagonal bracing. On the medium-pitch gable roof, V-crimped sheet metal panels have replaced 19th C. pressed tin shingles, a few of which can still be found about the mill. The windows, several of which
Photographed By J. J. Prats, October 18, 2015
3. Jessee’s Mill
After 1897, the mill was entered mainly by a doorway at the second floor level, on the uphill (west) side of the building. Just to the right of the doorway once stood a chimney with anexceptionally tall stack, needed to clear the roof. Its shape and dimensions are clearly indicated by differential weathering on the weatherboards. The chimney was constructed of handmade bricks and lime/sand mortar, and served only one hearth, in the small southwest-corner office on the second floor. Fireplaces are said to have been rare in mills because of explosive fine powder atmospheres.
The second floor and third floors house the corn cleaner, wheat cleaner and flour grader or bolter, together with the complex system of bins, hoppers, troughs, shafts, belts, pulleys, and chains powering them via a long belt from the main shaft in the basement.
The large, brick, c.1897 Andrew Jackson Jessee House, associated with the mill, is situated on the east side of Route 645, across the road from the mill. The house is notable for its scale, its Queen Anne style characteristics and unusual rusticated brick window arches, as well as its high level of integrity. A late 19th C. frame miller's cottage is sited north of the A.J. Jessee House, also on Rt. 645. The frame Mill Creek Church (mid-20th-century)
Photographed By J. J. Prats, October 18, 2015
4. The Brick Home — The Andrew Jackson Jessee House
This is a private residence. It is across the road from the mill.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 12, 2022. It was originally submitted on November 28, 2015, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,038 times since then and 94 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on November 28, 2015, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.
Editor’s want-list for this marker. Photos of the A.J. Jessee House, Mill Creek Church, and Jessees Mill schoolhouse • Can you help?
