In case you missed last week’s post, I talked about how my house sits along a mill race. The race is small and narrow, and if you didn’t know any better, you’d think it was only a creek. The mill, on the other hand, is a bit more…striking. Noticeable? Big. It is big.

You can’t miss it. Though you might not realize, if you’re just driving by, that it still operates today. It’s actually part of NOVA Parks, and you can take a tour, rent the space for events, and watch Mike the Miller at work. The mill also hosts historic reenactments and other educational events, as well as the occasional farm-to-table dinner.

Before we even moved into our house, when we were still under contract and stressing about it, I did a bit of reading on the mill. We’d driven by it several times, but we’d never taken an opportunity to learn more. What better way to distract myself, I thought, than to do some research. (I was an academic kid, and I never grew out of it.) I came across this article, which I won’t rehash but will encourage you to read, that tells the mill’s story: https://www.loudounhistory.org/history/aldie-mill/. It’s a good story. My favorite bit (if it gets you interested) has to do with Civil War soldiers hiding themselves in the wheat from John Mosby and his rangers. (See? You want to read about it now, don’t you?)

Anyway, I know I talk a lot about how lucky I feel to live in an area with such a long and rich history, and I probably sound like a broken record. But I think it’s important to understand that history is alive.

And this mill is a living piece of Loudoun County’s history.