Hooks Mills, West Virginia
Encyclopedia
Hooks Mills is an unincorporated community in Hampshire County
, West Virginia
, United States
. It is located on Hooks Mill Road (West Virginia Secondary Route 13/3) which intersects Cacapon River Road (West Virginia Secondary Route 14) 4.5 miles south of Capon Bridge
. Hooks Mills is named for the saw
and grist mill
on the Cacapon River
run by the Hook family from 1848 to the late 1930s.
from Germany
built a cabin
in the area in the 1740s. On April 6, 1750, George Washington
surveyed the property that was to become the mill for a plat for Richard Arnold, Jr. On February 22, 1848 Margaret Dunlap sold the property to Robert Hook for the sum of $5,600. The deed of sale stated that a mill and other improvements on the property conveyed to Hook.
In the 1820s, a one-room school house
was built near the mill, George Nicholas Spaid serving as the teacher. In 1884 the River Dale school, as it was known, served the additional purpose as the site of legal proceedings.
By the late 19th and early 20th century Hooks Mills was an established community, with an inn serving the patrons of the mill, a blacksmith shed and house, the mill residence, and the Captain David Pugh House
. A 1903 photograph on display in the Capon Bridge Museum shows the mill in a state of early decline. In the photo Henson Hook, the mill operator, is seen with his hand on the wheel of a horse drawn wagon. The mill also served as the community's post office
, and the mill race
served as a place where the local population harvested ice in the winter. Nothing remains of the mill, which was swept away in a flood in the late 1930s, but the traces of the mill race
and a few scattered foundation stones.
Today, Hooks Mills is served by the Yellow Spring
post office. The inn, the blacksmith's house, and the miller's house all remain as private residences.
Hampshire County, West Virginia
Hampshire County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 23,964. Its county seat is Romney, West Virginia's oldest town . Hampshire County was created by the Virginia General Assembly on December 13, 1753, from parts of Frederick and Augusta counties ...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is located on Hooks Mill Road (West Virginia Secondary Route 13/3) which intersects Cacapon River Road (West Virginia Secondary Route 14) 4.5 miles south of Capon Bridge
Capon Bridge, West Virginia
Capon Bridge is a town located in eastern Hampshire County, West Virginia along the Northwestern Turnpike , approximately twenty miles west of Winchester, Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 2,178, 200 of which live within the town limits. Originally known as Glencoe, Capon...
. Hooks Mills is named for the saw
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
and grist mill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
on the Cacapon River
Cacapon River
The Cacapon River , located in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle region, is an river known for its fishing, boating, wildlife, and scenery...
run by the Hook family from 1848 to the late 1930s.
History
John Cale, an immigrantImmigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
built a cabin
Log cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
in the area in the 1740s. On April 6, 1750, George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
surveyed the property that was to become the mill for a plat for Richard Arnold, Jr. On February 22, 1848 Margaret Dunlap sold the property to Robert Hook for the sum of $5,600. The deed of sale stated that a mill and other improvements on the property conveyed to Hook.
In the 1820s, a one-room school house
One-room school
One-room schools were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In most rural and small town schools, all of the students met in a single room...
was built near the mill, George Nicholas Spaid serving as the teacher. In 1884 the River Dale school, as it was known, served the additional purpose as the site of legal proceedings.
By the late 19th and early 20th century Hooks Mills was an established community, with an inn serving the patrons of the mill, a blacksmith shed and house, the mill residence, and the Captain David Pugh House
Captain David Pugh House
The Captain David Pugh House is a historic 19th century Federal style residence on the Cacapon River in the unincorporated community of Hooks Mills in Hampshire County, West Virginia, United States. It is also known by its past name, Riversdell. It is a 2 1/2 story frame dwelling built in 1835. ...
. A 1903 photograph on display in the Capon Bridge Museum shows the mill in a state of early decline. In the photo Henson Hook, the mill operator, is seen with his hand on the wheel of a horse drawn wagon. The mill also served as the community's post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, and the mill race
Mill race
A mill race, raceway or mill lade is the current or channel of a stream, especially one for conducting water to or from a water wheel or other device for utilizing its energy...
served as a place where the local population harvested ice in the winter. Nothing remains of the mill, which was swept away in a flood in the late 1930s, but the traces of the mill race
Mill race
A mill race, raceway or mill lade is the current or channel of a stream, especially one for conducting water to or from a water wheel or other device for utilizing its energy...
and a few scattered foundation stones.
Today, Hooks Mills is served by the Yellow Spring
Yellow Spring, West Virginia
Yellow Spring is an unincorporated community in Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. According to the 2000 census, the Yellow Spring community has a population of 296. Yellow Spring is named after the "Yellow Spring" located there on the Cacapon River. The community lies at the...
post office. The inn, the blacksmith's house, and the miller's house all remain as private residences.
Historic sites
- Homer's FortHomer's FortHomer's Fort was a French and Indian War era stockade fort erected by settlers five miles upstream on the Cacapon River from Fort Edwards near present-day Hooks Mills in Hampshire County, West Virginia, United States. Historically, Homer's Fort was also referred to as Fort MacKay.-See also:* List...
site, French and Indian WarFrench and Indian WarThe French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
fort - Riversdell (Captain David Pugh House), 1835 - Recently listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...