Mills and Community Commerce

When Germantown appeared on the maps in the 1840s there were about 50 water-powered mills in Montgomery County. Eight of these were in what is now known as Germantown or just beyond its borders. By founding date, these were: Goshen (c1740), Clopper (c1775), Bucklodge (c1780), Davis (c1780), Watkins (1783), Waters (c1790), Middlebrook (before 1794), Black Rock (1815). Hoyle’s Mill on Little Seneca Creek just north of the crossing of Hoyles Mill Road was in existence by 1865. I have written previously about Clopper Mill, Black Rock Mill and Waters Mill. Here are brief histories and locations of the others.

Goshen Mill, the oldest, was a large grist mill built by the Pigman familyon the Goshen Branch just above where it empties into Seneca Creek. A copper smelting operation was at one time connected to the mill. A historic Marker is located on the north side of Brink Road just above the intersection of Goshen Road.

Watkins Mill was below that mill on Seneca Creek. The impression of the mill pond can be seen on the north side of the Watkins Mill Road bridge over the creek, and the mill was located on the south side. A historic marker in the parking area on the north side of the road just before the bridge tells the story of this mill which was built by Adin Gray in 1783 and destroyed by fire in 1908.

Bucklodge Mill on the Bucklodge Branch of Little Seneca Creek just north of Boyds was built by the Darby family and continued operation until the early 20th century. It was also known as Viers Mill and Gott’s Mill.

Middlebrook Mill first appears as Faw’s Mill on a 1794 map. It was also known as Goodwill Mill. It was where Rt. 355 crosses Seneca Creek between Gaithersburg and Germantown. The Mill was located on the west side of the road, but since the road has been moved to the west, remnants of the Mill can be found along the creek on the east side of Rt. 355. A historic marker is in the parking lot on the east side of the road just north of the bridge.

Davis Mill was just upstream from the intersection of Davis Mill Road and Huntmaster Road. A historic marker washed away by a flood may have been replaced. The ruins of the mill have been cleaned up by the local community. The last owner/miller was John Davis, who had been a miller at Goshen Mill during the Civil War and baked bread for the Union troops stationed there in the fall of 1862. This mill lasted until 1940 when it was destroyed by fire.

All of these mills may not technically be located in today’s Germantown, but they served the farmers of this area. Other than a few ruins and road names, what can these mills tell us about our common past? What lessons can we learn that could possibly apply to modern life?

In the mid 1800s the population of Montgomery County was only about 18,000 (including free blacks and enslaved people). This is about 5 percent of what it is today, and less than one fifth of the population of Germantown today. This was an agricultural society. More than 90 percent of the people lived on farms. Towns consisted of a few stores and services at crossroads. People identified with their local community and this local community was not centered on the post office or the general store or the school, it was centered on the nearest mill.

The mills were not just commercial enterprises established to make money; they were as dependent on the local community as the community was on them. The miller was usually paid in a percentage of the flour or cornmeal milled. The community gathered to help repair the mill after a flood or fire, and roads were built and maintained by the locals to and from the mill. The mill was also the local gathering place to share the latest news and gossip, to hold meetings, and to celebrate the harvest with a dance.

The mill was known to the locals by the name of the miller, not the owner. Sometimes these were the same, and sometimes not, but the name of the owner is documented in land records and newspaper advertisements, where the name of the miller is usually only known by way of oral history. We know mills today by the name of the last owner, not the miller or the builder of the mill. That is why we have Davis Mill road and Watkins Mill Road and Hoyles Mill Road in Germantown. Clopper Road and Black Rock Road are also named for mills, but the “Mill” part of the road name has been dropped.

But what about “Dorsey Mill Road” off Observation Drive in Germantown? There is no current mill site known as Dorsey Mill, but we know from oral history that Slagel Dorsey was the miller for the Waters Mill and later the Black Rock Mill, even though he never owned either mill. Actually, a succession of Dorseys -- Nicholas, Reuben and Joshua -- owned the Watkins Mill in the early 1800s, but the last owner was Levi Watkins, so the mill site has his name. The naming of this road is a way of recognizing one of the last millers in the area, even though he is only know through oral history.

That brings us back to the question of what these old ruins can teach us. We can see by delving into the past of these mills that community commerce does not just mean trade by barter instead of money. It means a commerce built on the cooperation of members of a community, regardless of religion, political party, wealth, age or sex, to support a business that is integral to their own well being. This is not socialism because the mill is in private ownership and the owner reaps the benefits, and the farmers as well reap the benefits of the sale of their products.

The cooperation between the community and the mill demonstrates how communities in the past supported each other and shared mutual respect even though they may have had competing enterprises and different goals. This type of decency is hard to find today when lines are drawn separating people into different religions, ethnic backgrounds, political ideologies, life-styles and income levels within the same community. It is hard to remember that we are all members of the human race and have common goals and core values. A community is built on mutual respect and cooperation, and without this there is no real community.