Mill Rock Point

Mill Rock Point. . John W. Flannagan Reservoir on Pound River, the principal tributary to Russell Fork, is the major public water source for Dickenson, Buchanan, and portions of Wise County, Virginia, and services the present dominant industry, coal mining, for processing and mine supply. But before the rise of mining, Russell Fork and its tributaries were essential to the timber industry. Selective cutting of walnut occurred as early as 1885 for the Singer Sewing Machine Company. In 1909, however, the heyday of timbering commenced when the Yellow Poplar Lumber Company constructed a splashdam at Bartlick upstream from here. Primarily poplar, which reached enormous size in cove settings, but other hardwoods as well, were placed in the pond behind the splashdam where the water was allowed to rise and be released. In only this way could the timber be assured of passing through The Breaks to Elkhorn City, Kentucky, where the logs were made into rafts and floated to Catlettsburg, Kentucky, then transported to mill at Coal Grove, Ohio. Considerable effort was expended to blow up boulders in the gorge that could trap logs. In less than 10 years, the virgin poplar was gone and splashdamming ceased. But even prior to timbering, the waters of the Russell Fork Basin served to power simple pounding mills and the more advanced grist mill, utilizing millstones such as were once quarried and fashioned here at Mill Rock Point. Authentic examples of stones recovered from this site are on display at the Visitors Center. And of course, the very headwater springs provided an essential ingredient, pure water, mixed with corn ground from those mills as the first step in moonshine production.