McCormick's Mill

The materials in these buildings have all been procured from this farm. Hewed oak logs form the superstructure and rived chestnut shingles cover the roofs. Notice that much of the inside shows the mark of the broad axe on the supports and framing for the wooden machinery. The gearing is all solid oak. Cogwheels mesh into "squirrel cages" which are formed of stout wooden rungs fitted into heavy wooden discs. The discs in turn are securely mounted upon the exle or shaft which they are designed to turn. Wooden pins are used to fasten wood on wood; metal was scarce and hard to get in the eighteenth century frontier.

In addition to being a Grist Mill (that is, one designed to grind corn into meal), this mill can also handle wheat or small grain. This requires the addition of "bolting cloths" and other appliances to sift the flour and separate it from the bran. All of these have been refurbished and put into pace on the top floor. Notice the two grinding wheels - the one to the uppoer right is strictly for corn meal and the one to the upper left is for wheat or small grain.

The overshot waterwheel which can move all this gearing and grind stones is powered, as in the days of Cyrus McCormick, by water from a mill pond across the road. Originally there was an open race to the mill from the millpond. Through the years this had to be replaced byan undergroiund pipe due to maintenance and the construction of the adjacent road.

The waterwheel, incidentally, produces approximately 17 horse power when a great quantity of water is put across for grinding grain. Water is shut off to the wheel during the winter months to prevent ice buildup and dmage to the wheel. The flow of water to the sluice box is controlled by a gate valve in the millpond.

128 McCormick's Farm Circle, Raphine, VA 24472

Resource: Virginia Agricultural Experimental Station of Virginia Tech.

Shenadoah Valley Agricultural Research and Extension Center

History by Virginia Tech

The Shenandoah Valley Research Station was officially opened in 1956 as a branch of the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station of Virginia Tech. The 620-acre farm, known historically as “Walnut Grove Farm,” is the ancestral home of Robert McCormick and his son, Cyrus Hall McCormick.

Born on this farm in 1809, Cyrus Hall McCormick is famous for building the first practical grain reaper, which was successfully demonstrated in a field of oats owned by John Steele in nearby Steeles Tavern in 1831. Patented in 1834, the reaper is credited for starting the mechanical revolution in agriculture that would forever change agricultural production worldwide. From a meager beginning in a small blacksmith shop in Steeles Tavern evolved a company that would grow to become one of the world’s manufacturing giants, the International Harvester Company.

The descendents of Cyrus McCormick retained ownership of the farm until 1954 when they donated it to Virginia Tech. Soon after, a two-acre site including the gristmill, 1822 manor house, smokehouse, schoolroom, housekeeper’s quarters, and blacksmith shop were set aside as the McCormick Memorial Plot.

In 1956, the Cyrus McCormick exhibit from the Virginia State Museum in Richmond was relocated to the second floor of the blacksmith shop. Included in this display are 14 miniature models of the McCormick reaper that are similar to those used by McCormick salesmen in the late 1800s. In June 1966, the memorial area was designated a National Historic Landmark and Virginia Wayside site, and is toured by thousands of visitors every year.

Although the station officially opened in 1956, Virginia Tech’s first research project started in 1955. Drs. Charles Kincaid and Robert Carter conducted a crossbreeding project with British breeds of cattle. This project continued until 1978 and gained acclaim as the largest and most complete crossbreeding project in the United States involving British breeds of cattle at that time.

Over the past 50 years, many faculty, students, interns, employees, and visitors have passed through the center. From the early “mechanical” research in the 1800s to the present high-tech projects, the facility has played an important role in developing new and innovative ideas for production agriculture. The center also continues to tell the story of the resourceful McCormick family and the impact they had on the world.

Virginia Tech

History of McCormick's Mill by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_McCormick_Farm

The farm originally covered 532 acres with buildings centered on a scant 5 acres. On the farm eight out of the nine original buildings are still standing, many of which have been renovated since the farm was created in 1822 by Robert McCormick (1780–1846). The eight existing buildings include a grist mill, blacksmith shop, slave quarters, carriage house, manor house, smoke house, schoolroom, and housekeeper's quarters. In the original construction of the farm there was also an ice house which was demolished in the 1960s. Each of these different buildings played a specific role in the daily routine of the Cyrus McCormick farm. The grist mill, built prior to 1800, was used to grind wheat for flour. The blacksmith shop was used to build and repair all the farm implements needed by the McCormick family and was where Cyrus McCormick engineered his reaper. Slave quarters served as the home for the nine slaves that the McCormick family owned. Furthermore, the carriage house was used as a garage for the carriages and other wheeled vehicles. The manor house is centrally located on the farm and was constructed of brick in 1822, making it the first building on the McCormick farm. Behind the brick manor house was the smoke house where meat was dried and smoked to preserve it through the winter. Refrigeration was not introduced until the late 19th century. The McCormick family also maintained a school on their property for neighboring children.

The McCormick Farm at Walnut Grove is known as the birthplace of the mechanical reaper, the predecessor to the combine harvester. Cyrus McCormick reportedly designed, built, and tested his reaper all within six weeks at Walnut Grove, although the design may have been merely an improvement upon the similar device developed by his father and his brother Leander over 20 years. Shortly after constructing his first reaper he went on to harvest his first crop with it later that year. After building his first reaper, Cyrus constantly went back to the drawing board to revise and improve his basic design, coming out with new models almost every decade.

After his father's death, Cyrus McCormick moved his base of operations from Rockbridge County, Virginia to Chicago, Illinois in 1847 because of the fertile prairie soil in the midwestern United States. In 1859, Cyrus was joined by his brothers Leander James McCormick and William Sanderson McCormick to form the company Cyrus H. McCormick and Brothers. By the end of the 19th century, McCormick's company had built a primitive combine, which could harvest grain even faster and cheaper than older reapers. Prior to inventing the reaper, farmers could only harvest 0.5-acre (0.20 ha) a day; after the reaper was invented, farmers could harvest 12 acres (4.9 ha) a day using less manual labor. The mechanical reaper did not require a family to toil all day to harvest crops. Instead, a single farmer merely operated the machine and the reaper would do the rest of the work. His work in mechanical reapers and harvesting techniques allowed farmers to cultivate plots of land bigger than ever thought possible. In 1902, the company was merged with competitorDeering Harvester Company and (smaller ones) to form International Harvester.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_McCormick_Farm