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Potomac Mills (Shepherdstown, West Virginia)

1826 establishments in VirginiaAgricultural buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in West VirginiaBuildings and structures in Washington County, MarylandCement companies of the United StatesGrinding mills in West Virginia
Grinding mills on the National Register of Historic Places in MarylandHistoric American Engineering Record in MarylandHistoric American Engineering Record in West VirginiaIndustrial buildings completed in 1826Lime kilns in the United StatesNational Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, West Virginia
Potomac Mills kiln WV1
Potomac Mills kiln WV1

The Potomac Mills was a mill complex located along the Potomac River roughly .5 miles (0.80 km) downriver of Shepherdstown. Built in 1826, the complex was originally used as a gristmill. In 1829, the mill began producing cement for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal's construction. The factory continued to produce cement after the canal opened, and it shipped its product along the canal to other cities. Flooding and drought conditions in the 1880s led the mill to reduce its operations, and by 1901 the mill closed permanently.The remaining buildings from the mill occupy an 18-acre (7.3 ha) site and are mostly in ruins. The buildings include the main mill building, several lime kilns, a headrace wall, and an office building. The stone foundation of the mill's dam, which extends across the river into Washington County, Maryland, is also still part of the site. The mill site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 5, 2014.

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Potomac Mills (Shepherdstown, West Virginia)
River Road,

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N 39.428333333333 ° E -77.78 °
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River Road 4310
25443
West Virginia, United States
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Potomac Mills kiln WV1
Potomac Mills kiln WV1
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James Rumsey Monument
James Rumsey Monument

The James Rumsey Monument, also known as Rumsey Monument Park, is a municipal park and former West Virginia state park in Shepherdstown, Jefferson County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The park overlooks the Potomac River. It commemorates local inventor James Rumsey and his successful public demonstration of his steamboat invention on the Potomac in 1787. The monument consists of a 75 ft (23 m) column of Woodstock granite, which is capped with a globe and stands atop a tall, concrete plinth consisting of a 40 sq ft (3.7 m2) plaza. Interest in building a monument to Rumsey at Shepherdstown, and to the first successful public demonstration of his steamboat, began in the 19th-century. In 1888, Congressman Alexander Boteler sought to raise money for a monument to Rumsey. In 1903, state senator William Campbell introduced bills to fund a monument and in 1905, the West Virginia Legislature provisioned an initial $1,750 for the monument (equivalent to $56,998 in 2022). The Rumseian Society was incorporated in 1906 to facilitate the monument's construction. The Society acquired land from Norfolk and Western Railway in 1907, and commenced construction in 1915 following a contract with Forbes Granite Company of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The monument was completed in 1916 and became a state park in 1956, when the legislature transferred its operation to the state Conservation Commission's Division of State Parks. The commission was succeeded by the Department of Natural Resources, and in 1971, the legislature authorized the department to acquire the monument from the Rumseian Society. However, negotiations between the department and the society were unsuccessful. The department ceased operating the state park in 1978, and transferred its adjacent property to the corporation of Shepherdstown for use as a public park. The society retained ownership of the monument. In 1987, the monument and the four-acre park were added as a contributing property to the Shepherdstown Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

Rumsey Hall (Shepherdstown, West Virginia)
Rumsey Hall (Shepherdstown, West Virginia)

Rumsey Hall, also known as the Entler Hotel, is an historic building in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The building is located in the center of the Shepherdstown Historic District and is a composite of six separate phases of construction. The earliest portion was built in 1786, and was the home belonging to Christian Cookus. This section burned in 1912. This section was separated by a narrow passage from the core of the hotel property, first started in the 1790s by owner Daniel Bedinger. This Federal style structure was expanded to the corner sometime before 1809, with a further addition along Princess Street by 1815. A kitchen and a carriage house completed the complex. Significant interior features remain. In 1809 a store was opened in the corner building, operated by James Brown. At about the same time, the Globe Tavern opened, offering overnight accommodations. In 1815, Bedinger sold the property to James Brown and Edward Lucas for $6,000. In 1820 it was again sold, to Thomas Crown of Washington, D.C., for $4000. By this time the tavern was managed by Thomas James and the hotel by Daniel Entler. In 1823, Daniel Entler became the manager of the entire property. The Entlers managed the properties until 1873, when they moved to Piedmont, West Virginia, while retaining ownership of the hotel.The Entler Hotel was one of two in Shepherdstown run by Entlers. Daniel Entler's brother Joseph ran the Great Western Hotel, and both were the sons of a German immigrant butcher and innkeeper from York, Pennsylvania. The Entler Hotel was the chief venue in Shepherdstown for social events. After the Battle of Antietam, three miles away, Shepherdstown became a field hospital for the wounded, with many severely wounded brought to the Entler. On December 14, 1898, the Entler received one of the first two telephones installed in Jefferson County. Several fires occurred between 1899 and 1912, with a fire in 1910 killing the manager's daughter, who was playing with matches. In 1912 a conflagration burned several buildings on the north side of German Street, including the original Entler property. The hotel closed in 1917 and in 1921 it was sold to the State of West Virginia and became the first men's dormitory at Shepherd College, at which time its name was changed to Rumsey Hall. In the 1950s the building was used as faculty apartments, then as storage.The Town of Shepherdstown bought the Entler from the State in 1978 after a bill was passed by the West Virginia Legislature that mandated that Shepherd College sell the building to the Town after a campaign to prevent the building's demolition, and began restoration work in 1982. The college was going to demolish the building and turn the property into a parking lot. The bill was sponsored by Delegates Clarence E Martin, III and Joseph Caudle. It is now used to house the Historic Shepherdstown Museum, office space for non-profit groups and for town meetings.