— Breaks Interstate Park —

John W. Flannagan Reservoir on Pound River,
the principal tributary to Russell Fork, is the
major public water source for Dickenson,
Buchanan, and portions of Wise County,
Virginia, and services the present dominant
industry, coal mining, for processing and mine supply. But before the rise of
mining, Russell Fork and its tributaries were essential to the timber industry.

Selective cutting of walnut occurred as early as 1885 for the Singer Sewing
Machine Company. In 1909, however, the heyday of timbering commenced
when the Yellow Poplar Lumber Company constructed a splashdam at Bartlick
upstream from here. Primarily poplar, which reached enormous size in cove
settings, but other hardwoods as well, were placed in the pond behind the
splashdam where the water was allowed to rise and be released. In only this
way could the timber be assured of passing through The Breaks to Elkhorn
City, Kentucky, where the logs were made into rafts and floated to
Catlettsburg, Kentucky, then transported to mill at Coal Grove, Ohio.
Considerable effort was expended to blow up boulders in the gorge that
could trap logs. In less than 10 years, the virgin poplar was gone and
splashdamming ceased.

But even prior to timbering, the waters of the Russell Fork Basin served to
power simple pounding mills and the more advanced grist mill, utilizing
millstones such as were once quarried and fashioned here at Mill Rock Point.
Authentic examples of stones recovered from this
site are on display at the
Visitors Center. And of course, the very headwater
springs provided an
essential ingredient—pure water—mixed with corn ground from those mills
as the first step in moonshine production.

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Show me all markers in:  Haysi, VA  |  Dickenson County  |  24256  |  Virginia  |  United States of America

Mill Rock Point Overlook
The Crooked Road
Known But to God
Russel Fork Overlook
Richard Potter
William Ramey
Elkhorn City's Railroads
Daniel Boone's First Steps in Kentucky
Dr. Tivis C. & Emma Sutherland
Indian and Settler Conflict

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