Upstream: Yeargin Mill
Brockwell Mill on Bolin Creek
Downstream: Jones Saw Mill on Bolin Creek.
This mill was right below the Martin Luther King Jr. Road (Historic Airport Road) Bridge in Chapel Hill. Apparently it was abandoned in the early 20th century. Although locals report that they remember the mill race etc., there is no evidence of the former mill to be seen today.
John Daniel's 1793 map of the UNC area shows several mills on Bolin and Morgan Creeks, but not this one.
I could not find the deeds by which UNC Prof. William Green had acquired this property, but he sold it to Kendall B. Waitt in 1842 (ODB 29, pg 549). That deed does not mention a mill, so perhaps Mr. Waitt built the mill about 1845. It must have been unsuccessful though, as Isaac Hudson bought the property at foreclosure in 1849 (ODB 33, pg 356) "with the mill there on." Hudson's estate sold "the Hudson mill tract" to William P Mallett in 1859 (ODB 37, pg 175).
Before 1880, the site was acquired by A J Mcdade. According to the 1880 Census, the Mcdade Mill had a 26 foot head and used a four foot wide overshot waterwheel. It was able to grind 40 bushels a day, generating 20 horsepower. A J Brockwell bought the millsite from Mr. Mcdade in 1884 (ODB 48, pg 139) but the mill building was not standing at the time. Brockwell must have rebuilt the mill c. 1885, as the Tate map of Orange County (1891) shows this as A J Brockwell's Mill.
The History of the University of North Carolina by Kemp Plummer Battle (1907) apparently refers to this site on pages 767-768: "Descending the stream {Bolin} we come to the site of the 'Valley Mill Pond' with 'Clover Hill' overhanging it. Here was once a beauteous sheet of water, a favorite for swimming and skating, and much visited by those fond of walking. But alas! the dam was carried off by a freshet and has not been rebuilt. Steam replaces falling water in the mill."
1. Daniel Mill
2. Merritt Mill
3. Mccauley Mill
4. Lloyd Mill
5. Pickard Mill
6. Yeargin Mill
7. Brockwell Mill
8. Castleberry Mill
9. Prestwood Mill
10. Patterson Mill 2
11. Breached Dam Mill
12. Johnston Mill
13. New Hope Mill 1
14. New Hope Mill 2
15. Morrow Mill
16. Union Mills
17. D Thompson Sawmill
18. H Thompson Mill
19. Pritchard Mill
20. Powerline Mill
21. Patterson Mill 1
22. Leigh Mill
23. Jones Saw Mill
24. Meeting of the Waters Mill
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