Clarke County is full of old houses with rich history, and the interest in researching the history of those houses has spiked (well, at least questions about researching have) during the season of COVID closures. Recently we looked into the history of the house pictured below, and what we found challenged what we thought we knew.

Grain production, milling, and transportation were long staples of the Shenandoah Valley. Across Clarke and other valley counties grist mills of varying states of preservation can be found. CCHA, of course, owns and operates the Burwell-Morgan Mill, located in Millwood. It was built by Nathaniel Burwell of Carter Hall, and has remained in near-constant operation since 1785. While countless histories have been written about Nathaniel Burwell and his associate, Daniel Morgan, an entire group of people have been left out of the narrative: the enslaved. It's easy to forget the black faces that powered the milling operation when you walk into the Burwell-Morgan Mill. While the location is original, much of the landscape around it has changed over the past two centuries. Foliage has grown back, roads have been added, houses built, etc. To those who visit for the first time, the building and water wheel are awe-inspiring. But we cannot forget about the countless, nameless human beings who worked day in and day out at a thankless job: agriculture.

CCHA is working to revamp our interpretation of the mill and those peoples associated with it. Our goal is to bring to light voices that have been traditionally left out: the enslaved. This post is a brief look at what we know so far.