The original Palmer mill was built c. 1800's by George Washington Palmer, a prominent settler on the site of the Preston Mill, built about 200 years ago, then purchased by Mr. Palmer in the early 1850’s from the Prestons.

The newly reconstructed mill, about 2006-2007, uses a 20’ overshot wooden waterwheel and other wooden milling equipment salvaged from the Greenfield Plamtation Mill, the last such plantation mill in Washington County, Va. The old Greenfield Plantation Mill had once been owned by Patrick Henry’s sister, Madam Elizabeth Henry Campbell Russell.

Millstones formerly used at the mill.

The Salt Theatre Company of Saltville, reconstructed the old Palmer Mill with the assistance of many local volunteers. The purpose of the theatre is to preserve the local way of life and Appalachian Heritage, still extremely important to the present and future generations of the area’s peoples. The new mill/theatre redo is located at the historic Palmer Springs, the Confederacy’s Salt Capital, in Saltville.

The Palmer Mill Playhouse in Saltville of Smyth County, VA is a rustic mill that houses working mechanisms from the oldest Plantation style mill in Washington County, Virginia and presents theater plays to the local community. The plays often invite the community to participate and have included performances such as Steel Magnolias, Everybody Loves Opal, and Annie.