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Aldie Mill is Virginia’s only gristmill still operating with tandem water wheels, using the original French millstones installed during the construction of the Mill (1807 - 1809). Visitors are provided with a glimpse of Loudoun County’s rich agricultural past.  For more than 150 years the Mill exported grain to markets overseas and along the east coast.  President Monroe, while living at his nearby Oak Hill plantation, was an early patron of the mill.  During the Civil War, Aldie Mill supplied grain to soldiers and horses for both the Confederate and Union armies.  Famed partisan ranger John S. Mosby made a daring capture of a Union soldier in Aldie Mill.

Website address: www.aldiemill.org

Location/Address: 39401 John Mosby Highway (U.S. 50) Aldie, Va. 20105.

Directions: Aldie Mill is located on U.S. 50 one mile west of Gilberts’ Corner (U.S. 50/15 intersection) and five miles east of Middleburg, VA.

Education Contact at Site: Brenda Branscome, Mill Manager

Phone: 703-327-9777 Email Address: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Theme Addressed at Site: Land of Conflict and Reunification; Place of National Beauty and Rural Character.

Education Programs and Corresponding SOL 

Programs We Can Do at our Site:

Mill Tour and grinding demonstration—not graded.

Features a hands-on grinding experience using a quern stone, a look at key events that involved the mill, and a tour of the mill to see how it works. Subject to volunteer availability, an actual grinding demonstration can be provided, opening the mill race and using the dual mill wheels.

Other Site Features of Interest to Students and Teachers

Students can learn how a gristmill works by touring the buildings and viewing the millstones, roller mills, and by having a hands-on experience using the ancient quern stone method of grinding. Lessons can be learned about agriculture, early transportation, geography, historical events and the loss of farmland and the implications for that loss in Loudoun County. The story of Daniel Dangerfield, who was an enslaved worker at Aldie Mill and who later escaped to Pennsylvania, is an illustration of the history of African-Americans at Aldie Mill.

Pre-Visit Materials Available 

Program Materials Sent or Given to Teachers using our program

Aldie Mill Traveling Education Kit – Grades 4 and 6

This kit contains information about the mill and its equipment (mills were the crucial piece of industry in any 19th century community), interviews of those who remember the Aldie Mill when it was a “going concern,” primary source documents from the mill’s past including its slave and Civil War experience, a time line game of the mill and contemporary events, and a section on our changing rural economy (the loss of farms and its consequent impact)

Program fees and miscellaneous  

Maximum Number of Students: Two groups of 25 (we recommend teaming Aldie Mill with other local sites and rotating classes through)   Minimum:  12.

Admission/Program Fee:  Group Rate =$1.50/student.

Handicap Accessibility: Limited to the Visitor Center and main floor of the Mill

Season of Operation: Late April to late October, as the mill is not heated.

Hours of Operation: Weekends late April to late October; Saturday 12-5, Sunday 1-5. School group hours are flexible and can be made for weekday visits.

Picnic facilities/Nearest restaurant options: There are no picnic tables here, but plenty of grass for picnicking. Restaurants in Leesburg, 12 miles north on Route 15, or 10 miles east on 50. There is a small sandwich shop virtually next door, the Little Apple Pastry Shop.

Restroom accessibility: Yes, in Granary Visitor Center. These are handicap accessible.

Chaperone Requirements ( No. chaperones/no. of students): 1:10

Is there anything else we should know about your site? As the mill is under new management by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, increased emphasis on the Mill’s tie-in to the nation’s story can be expected.

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