Garst / Kesler Mill

Garst, also, Kesler Mill. Hanging Rock Battlefield Trail. At this location in 1842, John Garst purchased 130 acres of fine land on Mason’s Creek. John was born in 1796, and was the son of Frederick Garst. Frederick is buried on a nearby knoll. John Garst built a dam across the creek, and in 1845 he completed his mill. It was situated on the west bank between a wagon road (now Kesler Mill Road) and the stream. Farmers brought their wheat and corn to be ground into flour, meal and feed for livestock between the mill’s burrstones. Flour and meal were staples in the diet of the early settlers, and mills were common in most rural communities. The mill functioned as a social center where neighbors awaited their meal and flour engaged in conversation, and the mill pond provided an ideal place for swimming in the summer months and skating in the winter. The mill on Mason’s Creek remained in operation until 1922, and during the years was known variously as Garst Mill, Salem Roller Mills, and Kesler Mill. In 1906, O. D. Kesler and H. H. Sides purchased one-half interest in the mill, ever since that time, it has been known as Kesler Mill. . This historical marker was erected in 1999 by County of Roanoke, the City of Salem, and the Hanging Rock Battlefield and Railway Preservation Foundation. It is in Salem Virginia