LoCoHistory

This post is a plea for information - to see if anyone knows historic details about the Albemarle Roller Mill (used by the Hartman Mill), located on a tributary of Moore’s Creek. The mill was used to process either lumber or flour. Today the site is located somewhere near Hartman’s Mill Road (between Ridge and Avon St). The drawing at the right comes from the 1907 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map and the complete image includes about half-a-dozen associated outbuilding. The Scottsville Road indicated on the map is probably located near today’s Avon Street which once connected to it.

The 1875 Peyton map illustrates Hartman’s Mill at a horseshoe bend in Moore’s Creek, one mile southwest of the courthouse. Old mills needed a source of power - the mill race, powered by gravity. Hartman’s Mill ran at 100 revolutions per minute, using water from a tributary of Moore’s Creek. The “head race” (labelled here “Mill Race”) carried water from the dam to the mill site. The water wheel (at the mill) produced electricity. The “tail race” returned the water to the stream. The site would have also included millstones (circular features that were used to grind flours). Most mills also included the home of the miller.

If anyone knows the location of the mill or has any additional historic documentation about it, please post a comment.

In the 19th Century, American families strolled through public cemeteries in an effort to impart morals and religious ideals to their children. In the 20th century this practice became taboo, as the arena of death became professionalized (through the rise of Funeral Homes and morticians who took over tasks that had previously been performed by family members). But cemeteries still have a lot to teach us. Gravestone inscriptions reveal family values, kinship relations, religious beliefs, expected gender roles, and attitudes towards death. Mortuary motifs transform cultural ideologies into art and illustrate beliefs about life and death. And, taken as a whole, cemeteries preserve the memory of past communities. There are two public cemeteries in Charlottesville: Oakwood and Maplewood and many of the privately owned, large memorial parks allow pedestrian traffic. In all cases, respect is due to these sacred sites. For a weekly update on Albemarle County gravestone motifs, click on the “gravestone archive” at the left-corner of this page.

What do the terms in the title have in common ? All three refer to vermiculite, a grayish, basaltic mineral. Jefferisite is a synonym for vermiculite, named after the American mineral collector, William Jefferis (1820-1906). Vermiculite derives its name from the Latin “vermiculare” which means “to breed worms.” This description alludes to the exfoliation (or expansion) of the mineral when exposed to intense heat. And finally, all of this ties in to Albemarle County with the old Charlottesville Quarry, located in Shadwell. In fact, Virginia is one of the larger producers of vermiculite (although today, the closest mining of this substance is in Louisa County). The mineral is extracted from deposits that are between 1.5 and 3 billion years old. It was discovered by geologists in 1824 and is still used in insulation, fireproofing, packing material, and even as a substrate for the incubation of chamelon eggs. To date, 86 known minerals have been located within Albemarle County. Accordingly, old county maps show dozens of mines and quarries that were dug for copper, gold, sulpher, soapstone, slate, limestone, etc. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this mineral is that its synonym “Jefferisite” is one of the only Albemarle County names beginning with “Jeffer…” that does not refer to the former president.