Cooperative Living July 2017 - 33

Burwell-Morgan Mill
The Burwell-Morgan Mill, built in 1785,
hosts " Art at the Mill " twice yearly.
an interior water wheel, an unusual design
that allowed the mill to operate year-round
in its heyday, and two grinding stones, one
for corn and a heavier stone for wheat. In
season, visitors can purchase organic flour
and meal ground on site.
When the mill was donated to the
historical association in 1964, the building
was in rough shape. One wall collapsed in
1943, rendering the water wheel inoperable.
The owner had continued limited mill
operations for another eight or nine years,
by cutting a new window into the lower
level of the mill and running a belt drive
off his tractor through the window.
The mill reopened as a working mill
museum in 1971 after considerable
restoration efforts by the historical
association. Because it is a working mill, the
building and its machinery require continual
care and maintenance. A second major
restoration was completed in 2001, but
according to Nathan Stalvey, executive
director of the historical association, a
major support beam and a water spring
were replaced last year.
" The art shows make these types of
repairs possible, to keep the mill operating, "
Stalvey notes.
The core of the village, surrounding the
mill, is remarkably intact. Across from the
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mill, the Locke Store building has been
continuously occupied by a store since it
was constructed in 1836. Owner Juliet
Mackay-Smith purchased the building in
2002 and has transformed it into the
Locke Modern Country Store,
specializing in prepared foods using locally
sourced ingredients, a carefully curated
selection of wines and other fine foodstuffs.
Mackay-Smith grew up in Pennsylvania,
but came to Millwood during the summers
when she was a child to stay with her
grandparents who owned a Welsh pony
farm. She remembers stopping at the Locke
Store to get ice cream on hot summer days
after swimming in the river. When she
purchased the store, Mackay-Smith
planned to focus on off-site catering and
added a full kitchen to the building.
However, she wasn't prepared for the
scope of running a retail business and the
catering side of the business has evolved
into pick-up and on-site orders only.
On a typical weekend, it's not unusual
to see locals coming to collect their dinners
standing in line, with out-of-town visitors
buying lunch to eat at one of the picnic
tables on the front porch. Mackay-Smith
offers wine tastings every weekend, drawing
a very loyal clientele from far and wide.
" The building has kind of a life of its own, "
Mackay-Smith says of the store. Her
restoration of the store and the adjacent
building, known as The Buttery, continues
a family legacy. Mackay-Smith's grandfather
was instrumental in the restoration of the
Burwell-Morgan Mill in the late 1960s.
Following the Civil War, Millwood was
a predominantly African-American
community. Today, the village remains tight
knit, with many families going back
generations. Denise Jackson's family has lived
in Millwood since before the houses had
running water. She remembers stories from
her mother of having to draw water from the
village pump next to Shiloh Baptist Church.
The pump is still there, although its handle
is missing.
Nathan Stalvey,
executive director
of the historical
association.
Shiloh Baptist Church was built in 1892
by a white Baptist congregation, but after
they built a new church two miles away in
Boyce in 1923, the African-American Baptist
congregation in Millwood purchased the
building. Jackson was the last member of the
July 2017 | Cooperative Living | 31
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Cooperative Living July 2017

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