Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-03-19
OF THE MILL.
EARLY HISTORY OF THE oH"
U.xsLI..CREysUa BUILDING.
ONWARD MARCH OF PROGRESS
site OF the First Grist-Miii In Eich-
uouJ-Tbe RnvaGcs of FLOOD an"
,,ro-Tbc ye,v Age of Electricity
A story Of Development.

The old Haxall-Crenshaw mills VIII
soon be nothing but memory Inc Ia
miliar monument OF red brick, when mas
stood for 80 many years upon the hor'i
b.nl- ~ the James river, IS fast disap-
nearing. the new age Is pressing haid
imam the heels Of the old; new ideas are
crowding out the old and the river winch
used 10 turn the old-fashioned wheel IS
10 be harnessed, converted into electn-
city. and widely dinused.
No one will regret 10 see the old MIL
pass away before such a wholesome ana
progressive movement though there are
many pleasant associations connected
with the big mill which is now crumbilng
in rrins before the onslaught Of the con-
tractors. The ribs OF the building stanu
bare. and three stories have already Deth
torn down.
The history Of the Haxall-Crenshaw
| Mills Is especially interesting at this tlne'
and it has been admirably toid Dy Ml,
Charles NJ. Wallace ST., the weh-klo"n
antfquarian who has written the ioIo"-
| ing for the Dispatch.
FIRST GRIST-NITL HERE.
Tho first erist-mll I'm Richmond was
built / am told. near the spol Wi'i
HoxnlTs Mills now stands. IL WAS
| ,oere yooden ghanty. built on The rocks
/ en- the river. and approached by planks
! laid from one rock TO another. Inc hld-
| chlnery was a common tub wheel pro-
nelled bv a natural rapid, and gave mo-
ton to a pair Of millstones, Which ser'eu
10 grind corn FOR the inhabitants.
In the long interval between the cree
Il
the site Of the latter was occupied by
POSES Mills. which were swept of by
freshet and rebuilt They then acquired
celebrity as "Gallego's NILS the ifst
Of the name, and resisted the HOODS 10
fan a victim to the flames. as dld the
next generation of mills on the same
spot From this account OF Mordecal' II
will be observed that GallegO went before
Haxall. as Ross had gone before Gaileso'
nut who occupied the old mili-slte before
Ross has never been discovered by the
painstaking annalist. / conjecture lhe
nresent site of the Haxall Mills to be on
ar near that once occupied by Fort
charles. one OF two stockades erected by
Colonel Byrd. the elder. on either side OIL
lanes river and al the foot Of its falls'
Richmond was not then incorporated
but the settlement northwest OF Shochoe
creek was. ~ we may believe contempo-
raneous history. a thriving one, ana was
known as Byrds. or ShOckoes
The river margin less than two centu-
ries ago was much narrower than II now
is all the way up from the ship-lOcks Oh
the left banks Of the stream to Brown
Island. and further westward.
Precipitous bluffs. IN some Of when the
swallows built their nests. overlooked the
riyer-shores from heights reaching as
much as sixty and seventy feet above the
ordinary flow of the water At periodic
seasons high freshets swept the bases or
these cliffs. and poured their yellow
foods over the low grounds, when, Wi'n-
I'm the memory OF some Of our elderly
citizens. extended as far up as Four
tcenth and cary streets.
FOUNDATION N THE RIVER
Mayo's bridge was reached by cause
way. built over sundry small islands.
which are now part Of the mainland ana
Haxalrs Mills resting on rocks and under
the shadow OF impending ellis, Were app
preached by three roadways-the Oldest
one being that which wound about the
rear-base Of Shockoe Warehouse ana
into Virginia street; the second, higher
m was by the way of Byrd Island
through a deep cut in a precipitous bank;
the third more recent than the two men
toned. BY the way Of Shockoe slip ana
| Thirteenth street, still in existence
though little used.
The old hOur-mill was built really IN
the river. with a foundation as solid as
it's bedrock: the old corn-mill stood
apart from it. on a rocky ground shelf
TO the westward.