In 1759, Daniel Boone blazed a trail from east Tennessee to
Kentucky, facilitating European expansion to points west of the
Appalachians. Many brave men and their families used Boone's new
trail to head west in search of adventure, fortune and a better way
of life. One of these brave souls was Mr. Henry Mock.
As Mock and his family were making their way towards Kentucky, they
came upon the confluence of the two creeks that we know today as
Beaver Dam Creek and Laurel Creek. The Mocks were so taken by the
beauty of the area that they decided to forget about heading farther
west and stay right there! They bought some land, built a house and
a grist mill, and the community of Mocks Mill was born.
Mocks Mill became a favorite stop along Boone's trail, and some of the
people who stopped in over the years never left. The community
slowly grew, but it remained more or less the same until General
John D. Imboden purchased much of the Mock property in 1886 and
changed the name from Mocks Mill to Damascus. He felt that Damascus
would be an appropriate name for the town because he believed that
the hills around it contained a treasure trove of iron ore, a belief
that lead him to develop big plans for turning
Damascus,
Virginia into a modern "steel city" much like its famous
namesake half a world away in Syria.
Well, much to Imboden's chagrin the huge bounty of iron ore that he
had built his dreams around turned out to be little more than a thin
layer that lay just below the surface. But all was not lost...
The Damascus area was blessed with countless acres of virgin timber,
and tons of capital from up north flooded into the town in an effort
to harvest it. And harvest it they did - after a quarter of a
century the mountains and hills of the region were all bare! When
the lumber boom ended, Damascus found itself having to reinvent
itself yet again. This time around they turned to industry, building
a number of manufacturing plants which kept the townspeople employed
for decades.
Today, most of Damascus' plants are either gone completely or stand
empty, but thanks to the
Appalachian Trail, the
Virginia Creeper Trail and nearby
Backbone Rock, the town now enjoys new life as a popular tourist
destination for hikers and bikers. No one knows what tomorrow will
bring, but right now Damascus is booming once again.
Damascus has adapted itself and adopted new industries several times
since Henry Mock started it all so long ago, but the mill that bore
his name remained in operation well into the 20th century. Today,
the waterwheel has been removed and the building has been renovated
into a first class dining and lodging facility, a fate that seems
quite appropriate since Damascus is now a thriving tourism mecca. I
just wonder what Mr. Mock and General Imboden would think if they could see
"their" town as it is today!
About the photo: I dropped by the Damascus Old Mill yesterday
evening just in time to watch the day begin to turn into night. The
outside lights had just come on, and I loved the look of the water
as it splashed over the concrete dam. I walked back to my car, set
up my tripod - and captured the "Picture of the Day".
Nikon D50, 18-55 Nikkor zoom lens at 18mm, ISO 200, Shutter speed 13
seconds, F22, RAW format.
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