A bird’s-eye view
Birds-eye view of Payne’s Mill and Parcel 1.1.5.1 circa 1813. The ground is steeply sloping, rising 85 feet above Accotink Run on the north and east sides. Structure locations are estimated from information in deeds and lawsuit documents. The mill building is assumed to have been on the island formed by Accotink Run and the millrace – see below images for millrace.
Traces of the millrace (click images to enlarge)
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- A remnant of the millrace is the last evidence of the mill in Accotink Stream Valley Park. (detail from Fairfax County myneighborhood image, April 1, 2015)
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- Millrace empties into creek at right, looking upstream (photo by author March 31, 2015)
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- Millrace with shallow standing water, looking upstream (photo by author March 31, 2015)
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- Millrace entrance blocked by storm debris, looking upstream (photo by author March 31, 2015)
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- Millrace entrance blocked by storm debris (center left), looking downstream (photo by author March 31, 2015)
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- Millrace empties into creek (center right), looking downstream (photo by author March 31, 2015)
A video tour captures something unchanged in 275 years
Eric Payne’s short video examines the site on Accotink Creek where his ancestors’ grist mill operated from 1758 to 1839, and under other owners to 1878 and later. Only a section of the millrace remains. Starting at the millrace, the view pans over the now empty mill site and follows the water flowing downstream with the timeless sound of Accotink Creek where generations of Paynes played as children, lived and worked.