The mill is from the 1790's, a merchant mill that played a part in the westward expansion through Eastern Tennessee prior to the discovery and development of the Cumberland Gap.

Built from 1798-1803 by William Cox, a Revolutionary War soldier.

The mill is located about two miles downstream from the TVA Cherokee Dam on the Holston River and about 3,000 feet upstream on Mill Spring Creek.

Flour and other local products, including tobacco, were loaded onto flatboats, floated down the Holston River to the Tennessee River, then on to the Ohio River, sometimes down the Mississippi, to markets where the products were sold.

GPS: 36' 9.38N, 83 31.56W 978'/298 meters Joppa Quadrangle

A large wooden waterwheel was first used, but was later replaced with a steel wheel, both of which were pitchback wheels with a side chute that dumped unwanted water away from the rear of the wheel & the mill.

From the bottom of the second door on the front, the bricks are laid endwise outside to inside on every 5th to 6th row. This probably ties the wall together better for strength. The wall is probably thicker at the bottom of the structure than at the top, perhaps by a foot if it follows most other mill construction. It is a little unusual in that most mills in the area were smaller and of frame or log construction.

The brick mill building was converted to a studio/residence by SPOOM member Stewart Worden. In 2011, it was owned by Lou Mogavero. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 1983.