We went to Colvin Run Mill yesterday. I've been wanting to go there for ages, for some reason. Probably because it's a working grist mill. And it's really old.

Well, it wasn't working yesterday. The main water wheel is being rebuilt, and probably won't be in place until later this year.

So we didn't get to see the working part. But we saw the old part.

We signed up for a tour of the mill, and we ended up being the only two on the tour. So it was personalized, and we got to ask lots of questions.

The mill was built around 1811. It was one of a number of mills in Fairfax county at the time. And it was located on a turnpike which led from Leesburg to Alexandria. After the wheat and/or corn were ground, they were most likely shipped down the turnpike to Alexandria. It took an entire day to get to Alexandria.

It's a beautiful old mill, and I can see why mill enthusiast groups exist. It would be an interesting pasttime, traveling around visiting old mills. If one were so inclined. I'm not sure I'm so inclined at this period of my life. Maybe in 15-20 years I will be.

There's a general store on the site, and I bought two pieces of maple candy, for 10 cents each. And a book about the history of children's book covers, for much more than 10 cents. But it's a very cool book, with sample of covers from each decade, starting in the 1800s and going through the 1950s.