Black Rock Mill and Great Seneca Creek

Black Rock Mill and Great Seneca Creek. . Milling Comes to Great Seneca Creek , In 1811 Thomas Hilleary purchased 355 acres of land here on Great Seneca Creek. Four years later he opened Black Rock Mill. an inscription on the east side of the mill reads "Black Rock Mill T.H. 1815.", The Nation's Wheat Basket , Before the Civil War central Maryland was part of the nation's wheat basket. Maryland grain was ground into flour at mills like Black Rock. For farmers the opening of a mill was a major event. Having a nearby mill reduced the time and effort needed to get their grain to market. Some of the flour ground at Black Rock was retained locally to bake bread, but the majority was packed into barrels and sent to seaports like Georgetown for export around the world., A Social Center , Mills were built to perform a practical function, but they also served as social centers. Due to his extensive business in the region, the miller was usually among the best-informed residents in the community. Dropping by the mill was always a good way to get caught up on the latest gossip., A Grinding Halt , With the opening of the Ohio Valley to agriculture grain production began to shift westward out of Maryland. Even as the grain trade dried up, Black Rock Mill continued to operate as a saw mill. The mill got a large contract to saw lumber to construct the steam-powered Bowman Brothers Mill in Germantown. Ironically, this efficient steam mill put Black Rock out of business by the middle 1920s.