02/08/2024
On February 5, 2014, the Potomac Mills ruins in Washington County was listed with Maryland’s National Register Properties in cooperation with the West Virginia's National Register Properties.
The Potomac Mills complex was established in 1826 as a merchant grain mill. The water-powered mills processed the grains of wheat and corn close to where they were grown in the Shenandoah Valley, which made it easier to transport them to port cities, such as Georgetown and Baltimore.
In 1829, Henry Boteler and George Reynolds adapted the Potomac Mill complex to produce hydraulic cement to be used in the construction of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, regional railroads, and governmental projects in Washington, D.C.
With its location along the Potomac River, the complex was burned by Union soldiers in 1861, but it was rebuilt after the Civil War. In 1889, a flood devastated travel on the C & O Canal for several years, which curtailed production at the Potomac Mills, which closed permanently in 1901.
While most of the Potomac Mills ruins are West Virginia, the archeological information about the hydraulic grain and cement production during the 19th century is also located in Maryland.
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Image description: Black and white photograph of stone ruins.
Image text: Maryland's National Register Properties: Potomac Mills
Image source:: Maryland & West Virginia State Historic Preservation Offices, Potomac Mills & Packhorse Ford by Edie Wallace, 02/2012, -11-1178
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Thomas Stone National Historic Site
• 6655 Rose Hill Road, Port To***co, MD, 20677
• As of Sunday, December 24, 2023, Thomas Stone National Historic Site is closed for the season, and it will tentatively reopen in the spring of 2024.
• 804-227-1732, extension 227
• [email protected]
