Mill Industries

Mill Industries. . The steep fall of the Clinch River as it winds through Cedar Bluff made the community an ideal location for water-powered mills and shaped the economy of the town for the next century. Mills have been operating in Cedar Bluff since at least 1842, when a property deed mentioned a mill dam in the river. The importance of the milling industry is even reflected in the Town Seal, which features the red Clinch Valley Roller Mill that still stands alongside the river. , At first, the Clinch Valley Mill was purely a grist mill, and people would come to town to have their grain ground between large millstones. Those who traveled long distances could spend the night in a lodging room built beside the mill's store. , In the 1850s, around the same time that the Old Kentucky Turnpike was constructed, the Clinch Valley Mill added a sawmill to its operations. The sawmill featured a planing mill where wood was finished into specific patterns and furniture parts, a furniture shop for assembling the parts, and a store to sell the completed pieces. , The railroad's arrival in 1889 allowed the grist mill to expand its production, growing from a small custom grist mill to a larger commercial flour operation. Milling equipment was also upgraded from primitive French mill stones to more modern steel rollers and a flour packer. Soon kitchens in eastern cities were serving breads and cakes made with local Cedar Bluff flour. , The McGuire Mill was perhaps the oldest of Cedar Bluff's early mills, and the remains of its dam are still visible in the river upstream from here. Just after the Civil War, the first “woolen mill” opened in Cedar Bluff to brush, or “card,” raw wool, then spin it into yarn for knitting or weaving into cloth. This mill evolved into the Cedar Bluff Woolen Mill. ,

“Higginbotham and Kirby, proprietors of the Clinch Valley Roller Mills, were busy running day and night in an attempt to catch up with orders for fine flour. This firm, among many other fine brands of flour, makes the Invincible, which is beyond question as fine a flour as there is on the market and cheaper than most other fine flours.” – Clinch Valley News, 1899

, Cation: Top: McGuire's Mill, now gone. Bottom: McGuire's Mill dam, whose ruins are still visible in the Clinch River. Right: Existing Clinch Valley Mill.