Productive, Seductive, Virginia: Wade's Mill

Not so long ago, Matt wrote a post titled 'Productive, Seductive Virginia', (which, by the way, is a phrase that came from a Virginia Tourism billboard in Richmond near the Phillip Morris factory, ironically enough) where he mentioned some of the things we love about this state. Well, when that post was conceived, we were having a conversation about all the neat places we had seen and others we wanted to visit. I thought it might be neat to share some of our weekend (or day trip) visits as a sort of travel journal. Since a lot of our readers live in Virginia, it isn't too far fetched to think that maybe some of you will be inspired to check out the awesome places our great state has to offer. And all you non-Virginians, I bet your states have cool stuff too, maybe this will inspire you to find out what there is to see around your neck of the woods. And of course, maybe people won't think anything of it and will not be at all inspired. Who knows. At the very least, we will have a little digital scrapbook of our adventures!

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we attended a wedding of some friends this past weekend. The wedding was in Maryland, but the reception was held in Buena Vista, Virginia on Saturday night. We visited Wade's Mill Saturday afternoon on our way down.

Wade's Mill is a working flour mill located between Staunton and Lexington, Virginia. It was built in 1750. The mill produces stone ground flours, grits, polenta, corn meal, and a variety of baking mixes. Many of the grains are grown by local farmers.

Upon arriving at the mill we entered the shop, which is on the lower level of original mill building. Not only can you buy all your stone ground goodness here, you can also buy locally made jams and syrups, and high quality kitchenwares. Of course Matt loves perusing the shop and dreaming about new kitchen gadgets.

The second level is where the magic happens- here you can walk out on a balcony and see the water wheel. You can also see some of the machinery, the chute from the upper level where the grains come down to be ground, and a whole lot of supplies. It has a rustic charm that makes you want to bake bread over a fire or spin your own yarn.

Looking out over the water wheel

Where the magic happens

Chute sending grains down in to be ground

Some local grains waiting to be ground

Charly checking out the goods

Sacks of flour

Our generation has become so disconnected from the food we eat. Visiting a local farm or mill is a great opportunity to reconnect and learn more about where our food comes from and how it is made. For instance, I had no idea that corn meal, polenta, and grits are all made by grinding corn to a different coarseness. It makes sense, but I had never thought about it until the miller, Jim Young, explained it to us on our visit. Being able to see the machinery that grinds it down and learning about the process the corn and other grains go through to become the products we buy from a store is fascinating.

Visiting the mill would be a great activity for children. It is self guided, so you can make the trip as quick as it needs to be for little ones with short attention spans, and it is free to visit. They also host events throughout the year, such as cooking classes, dinners, and will book private events.

Visitor hours are Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday 10 AM-5PM, Sunday 1-5PM from April through Mid-December. They are closed Sundays during June, July and August. Check out their site http://www.wadesmill.com/default.asp to find out more about events, history, visiting the mill, local attractions (perhaps pair your visit with a trip to the nearby Rockbridge Vineyards?) and to visit their online shop.

We certainly enjoyed our visit and hope we can visit again when Charly is a little older!