Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Pioneer Mill

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), March 30, 2018

1. Pioneer Mill Marker

Inscription. Pioneer Mill once stood at the end of Duke Street. The photograph shows the many wharves that occupied the blocks where buildings and parks now stand. Warehouses lined the Waterfront interspersed with processing plants for flour and fertilizer, saloons, and restaurants. The Alexandria Waterfront may well have looked similar to this photograph in 1881. In that year F. H. Lungren and R. Blum described Alexandria in Scribner's Monthly:

"Seen from the river, the town presents an appearance at once striking and quaint; - black roofs, gabled, hipped, and gambreled, their shingles, which were laid before the century was born, now warped and moss grown, are pierced by innumerable smoke stacks. These chimneys, tall or short, slender or massive, and of all colors -- red, yellow, gray or white -- line themselves against the clear blue sky...."

(caption)View from Pioneer Mill, looking up at the wharf.
May 1865
Courtesy of Library of Congress.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1865.

Location. 38° 48.22′ N, 77° 2.38′ W. Marker is in Alexandria, Virginia. It is in Old Town. It can be reached from Strand Street

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south of King Street, on the right when traveling north. Marker is on the grounds of Waterfront Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 110 South Union Street, Alexandria VA 22314, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area

and in Northern Virginia.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Raise the White Flag (here, next to this marker); The Domestic Slave Trade (within shouting distance of this marker); Waterfront Walk (within shouting distance of this marker); River Ferries (within shouting distance of this marker); George Henry, Enslaved Ship Captain (within shouting distance of this marker); Foot of King Street (within shouting distance of this marker); Alexandria Archaeology Museum (within shouting distance of this marker); John Fitzgerald (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Alexandria.

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), March 30, 2018

2. Pioneer Mill Marker

View from Pioneer Mill, looking up the wharf image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Andrew J Russell, May 1865

3. View from Pioneer Mill, looking up the wharf

Library of Congress LC-B8184-10213

Credits. This page was last revised on January 28, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 1, 2018, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 728 times since then and 50 times this year. Last updated on September 27, 2021, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 1, 2018, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3. submitted on April 2, 2018.