Colvin Run Mill Historic Site

A few weeks ago I was perusing the Unilocal events calendar and saw that Colvin Mill was having a maple syrup boil. Colvin Mill is a place we have always driven by (it’s right off of route 7 in between Tyson’s and Sterling) and admired from afar; so I thought «why not?» and off we went. The demonstration itself cost $ 3, and the tour of the mill cost $ 7 per person. They offer tours every hour on the hour, and we just happened to get there right as one was starting: perfect!
Kim, our tour guide, was awesome! It was just me/​the hubs and a woman with two little girls in our group and she made sure to keep the girls entertained as well as teaching us adults about the place. She really did a great job of keeping the pace going and seemed very passionate about the site and its importance in Virginia history.
Fun fact: the land was once owned by George Washington!
Although the mill isn’t currently in operation during the winter, it was really neat to learn about all the different components. We will be back when it warms up and I can’t wait to see the place again after the renovations are slated to be done in November.
The maple syrup demonstration itself was pretty cool too. The presenter was very informative and it was nice to sample some of the mill’s cornbread with maple syrup (although not from the site: their trees don’t make enough sap). There was also a blacksmith set up outside talking about his craft who I was fascinated by.
This was such a great experience.

The hubby and I ventured out to Great Falls, VA, on a Sunday to spend the morning at Colvin Run Mill and, in the afternoon, viewing waterfalls at Great Falls National Park, which are only 15 minutes apart.
If you visit the mill’s website and check the calendar of events, you can see what cool things are happening — like mill demonstrations (very educational), ice cream churning, etc. My husband and I actually spent the morning absorbing a free wood-​carving lesson, where we both whittled 2 love birds. Very sweet.
The mill itself is rather small. We did the tour in about 15 – 20 minutes. It is a great piece of local history, and I love the fact that it is being protected. The special events like wood carving are what made the trip worthwhile.
To make a whole day of your trip to the mill, pair it with viewing the waterfalls at Great Falls national park (
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Why don’t more people review local parks? I mean, really? *sigh*
Colvin Run Mill is a stone mill that was restored to its original function and beauty in the 1980s. We visited on a day when free milling demonstrations were available, which happens most weekends during the summer and for which there is a small fee. (Call ahead to confirm.) The miller and docent did a superb job of explaining the history of the mill itself and the family that operated it, including a detailed tour of the mill. Our kids really enjoyed learning and seeing how the 20-​foot-​diameter water wheel generated power that drove a fully-​automated operation to create corn flour.
You can also visit the miller’s house, which is quite cute, and the mill shop in which you can buy the just-​made corn flour and many other related products. (We used ours to make a peach crisp that afternoon. Yum!) There was also a wood carving demonstration during our visit, but sharp implements and 5 year olds don’t mix, so we gave that a miss.
Colvin Run Mill isn’t a run-​about-​and-​yelp kinda park but it’s a great place to spend an hour or two in beautiful surroundings. You might even learn something. And, even if you don’t, you can buy freshly-​ground flour to take home and enjoy!