Mabry Mill

Mabry Mill was built about 1910 by Edwin B. Mabry, a jack-of-all-trades who had been a chairmaker, a miner, a coal company blacksmith, and a farmer. He and his wife, Mintoria Lizzie Mabry, operated the mill until 1936, grinding corn and sawing lumber for their Meadows of Dan neighbors.

In 1945, the National Park Service restored and landscaped the mill. Today, it is the most photographed feature on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

266 Mabry Mill Road SE, Milepost 176, Meadows of Dan, VA 24120

A Versatile Mill

This building has three sections. The center section houses a gristmill; the wing to your left contains a sawmill, while the section to your right houses a woodworking shop. Ed Mabry built the original mill and both additions about 1910.

In the Gristmill the customer poured shelled corn into the hopper on top. Large, carefully-grooved millstones, separated by fractions of an inch sheared the kernels. The miller checked the testure of the meal as it entered the bin and could adjust the distance between the millstones if necessary. A second set of millstones would grind "chop," a coarser product used for livestock feed. Customers paid a toll of 12.5 cents a bushel or one-eighth of their total meal.

Unlike many of his competors, Mabry did not have a bolter, which separates the finer meal. He also did not grind wheat or other grains.

In rainy weather, when the water supply to the mill increased, Mabry operated his sawmill. A sliding carriage transported logs of oak, chestnut, and other species past a circular saw. Like the gristmill, the saw was powered by belts and shafts connectec to the waterwheel.

In the wooodworking shop, Marbry used his jigsaw and other tools to perform custom work and to cut spokes and wooden rims to make wagon wheels.