Feagans' Mill

Feagans’ Mill Complex is on the south side of Bullskin Run and was in operation between ca. 1795 to 1943. Three mills have stood on the same stone foundation: one Haines Mill and two Feagans Mills. The Haines family emigrated from New Jersey and built the first mill before 1800. The farms along the Bullskin cultivated large crops of grains and the Haines Mill was one of at least seven grist mills along the Run. Nathan Haines built the first mill as a three-story brick mill and also set up a sawmill on the property. This mill burned in 1884 and Haines sold the property to Silas Feagans who built a second mill on the same foundation. The second mill was a wooden-frame mill known as Feagans Mill and the family continued to mill grain and timber. Feagans died just four years after purchasing the property and his wife died shortly after. His son Wilder Clayton Feagans took over operation of the mill and eventually purchased the property from his siblings. Around 1885 a one-story addition was added that served as a creamery. W. C. Feagans managed the mill from 1888 to 1937 when he died at the age of 80. During that time he modernized the equipment of the mill, replacing the wooden wheel with the metal Fitz wheel and installing other modern milling equipment. After his passing, son Cecil Feagans bought ownership of the mill from his siblings and continued to improve the mill by adding in the fifty-foot flume to concentrate water to the wheel. The second mill burned in 1940 and Cecil quickly rebuilt the third mill (the second Feagans Mill) on the same foundation. He held a “Mill Dance” just two months after the fire to celebrate rebuilding and thank the local community for their support. The third (and current) mill is a two-story building with an exterior of pressed metal sheets that look like stone. Feagans operated for three more years and then sold the mill complex to Jacob Keller in November 1943. This was the last point that the mill was in operation as a mill. Keller used the building for a short period as a “Cream Buying Station” buying sour and sweet cream, but granted the property to Charles R. Keller in August 1944.

The third mill still stands and, despite the property bearing the disrepair of vacancy, most of the original milling equipment is still intact and present. The National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, linked below, holds more detail on the machinery and its condition. In addition to the mill, the property includes the mill house, a meat house, hog house, and the 1962 Lutz House. The original mill house was constructed by 1820 and occupied by Daniel Haines (Nathan Haines’ son). Initially a 1.5 story wood-framed house was built and then around 1885 an additional two-story masonry I-House was added. 

“National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Feagans’ Mill Complex.” Accessed October 14, 2020. http://www.wvculture.org/shpo/nr/pdf/jefferson/100000572.pdf.