Cooks Old Mill

A Building Worth Studying

Cooks Old Mill is a rare example of massive hand-hewn post-and-beam construction. The first floor opens into a 40-by-50-foot room built with enormous timber beams, some of chestnut hue from age. A raised platform at the south end once supported grist mills driven by two horizontal Leffel turbines in the basement forebay. The second floor, reached by a wide original staircase, holds a system of pulleys and belts that once powered a grain lift at the roof peak. The third floor opens beneath a 6/12 pitched roof with original rough-cut board sheeting under corrugated metal.↗

Outside, the mill's poplar clapboard siding and decorative barge boards along the eaves mark it as an example of Gothic Revival influence in rural industrial architecture. The concrete dam, ten feet high and 55 feet wide, spans Laurel Creek just before its intersection with Indian Creek. The millpond above it covers roughly three-quarters of an acre, fed by a large spring only a quarter mile upstream and supplemented by waters arriving through a cave system over a mile long.↗↗

What to See and Do

The property functions as a privately maintained park-like venue. Visitors are welcome to stroll the grounds, take photographs, enjoy a picnic beside the millpond, or try some fishing in its waters. When the owners or caretakers are working on-site, the mill itself may be open for casual viewing; tours can also be arranged by phone. The Laurel Creek Forge blacksmith shop operates in the large forge building and is another reason to visit — mill tours are often available during posted forge hours, with donations suggested.↗↗

Inside the mill, restored turbine machinery and grist mill equipment assembled from defunct area mills illustrate how grain was processed for over a century. The adjacent forge building contains early twentieth-century metalworking and woodworking machines, with the intent of demonstrating the technology of 100 years ago. A circa-1843 log cabin moved to the site from War Ridge in 1990 offers a glimpse of domestic architecture of the era, furnished with antiques.↗

Cooks Old Mill is also an anchor point on the Farm Heritage Road, one of Monroe County's designated Scenic Byways, making it a natural stop on a day trip through the fertile valleys of southern West Virginia.↗

A New Chapter: Folk School and Arts Center

In a stirring development, Cooks Old Mill is now under the stewardship of the Southern Allegheny Foundation for Traditional Arts (SAFTA), led by Nashville-based artist JP Harris. The vision is to transform the site into a folk school and Appalachian cultural center — hosting workshops in old-time music, dance, blacksmithing, woodworking, and other traditional crafts. The approach is intentionally slow, letting the community and the site's own character guide what comes next.↗

Harris describes the mill's history as one of perseverance: multiple eras in the last 150 years when the mill almost returned to the creek, only for someone to breathe new life into it. The site's journey from frontier gristmill to furniture store to heritage landmark to arts center reflects that same spirit of reinvention.↗

Visiting Tips

Cooks Old Mill sits on WV Route 122, just a quarter mile west of Greenville's town center. The phone number for the site is 304-832-6060; email contact is available through the website at cooksoldmill.com. The property is privately owned, so visitors should be respectful — no littering, no loud commotion. Restoration and transition work is ongoing, so checking the website before visiting is wise.↗

The grounds are suitable for families with children, and the site has earned a 4.9-star rating from Google reviewers, reflecting its appeal as a quiet, authentic historic stop rather than a crowded attraction. The surrounding valley setting at the confluence of two creeks makes it a peaceful spot to linger even without a guided tour.↗