Jessup's Mill
Also known as: Stokes County Union Milling Company
Why it's listed
Jessup's Mill is a tall, timber-framed roller mill beside the Dan River near Collinstown, in Stokes County, North Carolina. Local residents pooled money in 1910 to form the Stokes County Union Milling Company and build it, hiring D. H. Jessup as miller. Water turbines power three milling systems: roller flour, stone-ground cornmeal and hammer-mill feed. A concrete dam built in 1913 replaced the original log dam, which a flood washed away. The complex also includes a millrace, a small cottage once used as the miller's house and a warming room where wagoners waited out cold weather, since the insurance company barred fires in the mill. The mill matters because roller mills were usually urban and run by steam or electricity, yet this one combined that technology with river power in the countryside. It ground corn into flour, meal and feed for nearly seventy years, until floods in 1979 and 1980 caused heavy damage. It is the only corn mill in Stokes County.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is an outstanding, virtually intact and unusually early roller mill complex, and the only corn mill in Stokes County. It pioneered adapting urban roller-mill technology to a rural, water-powered setting before rural electrification in the 1930s. It also may yield archaeological information about early twentieth century milling.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 82003515, listed July 15, 1982. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | SR 4132, Collinstown |
|---|---|
| County | Stokes County |
| Listed | July 15, 1982 |
| Reference number | 82003515 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1900- |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Operated continuously until damaged by a flood in September 1979 and again in April 1980; plans were underway to reopen it. Condition listed as fair, unaltered, original site. |
| Acreage | 7 |
| Coordinates | 36.52574, -80.37126 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 82003515.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6187908
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.