Lantz Roller Mill
Shenandoah Co. | Virginia | USA
Watersource: Stony Creek.
Lantz Roller Mill
Take Sh 185 west from US 11 in Edinburg, soon after the I-81 underpass, continue on Sh 675 for about one mile, turn left on Sh 809, turn next right on Sh 691 and follow down to he mill on the left.
An old frame mill in not real good condition.
The mill is about 35'X 40', 2.5 stories tall with additions on both sides.
This steel waterWheel is half buried in the ground on the rear upstream corner of the mill along Stony Creek. A large slab of concrete leans up against the 4' wide, 4' diameter wheel. The wheel seems to have been pulled out of its original postition and placed here. Upon examination of a picture from the 1920's of the mill, the wheel is where it originally operated. The concrete slab used to be vertical instead of leaning against the wheel, and supported the wooden flume box carrying water to the wheel. A shunt could close off the flume to bypass water out the side toward the photographer.
A advertising sign stating that Lantz Roller Mills of Edinburg, Virginia was the purveyor of Eshelman's Red Rose Guaranteed Feeds, established in 1842. This brand of feed originated in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and was and still is sold throughout the Atlantic Seaboard states and into the Midwestern states.
A parting shot,looking back at the old mill on Sh 961 along Stony Creek. A swinging walk-across bridge over Stony Creek is quite helpful in getting views of the rear of the mill.
*Update: Photo of Lantz Mill in 1981. Submitted by Margo Mead 03/01/2009*
*Update: Old postcard image of the mill dated 1908. Ted Hazen 07-03-2009*