Black Rock Mill was the center of a diverse farming community extending along Black Rock Road.

Nicholas Dorsey Offutt, a member of the Maryland House of Delegates and a successful businessman and merchant, purchased the mill in 1866 and built a handsome new miller's house on a hillside overlooking the mill. Across the creek, neighbors William and Elizabeth Hughes established a prosperous grain and dairy farm. Their son Charles Wallace Hughes married a daughter of the master miller and studied the milling trade. He became the last miller at Black Rock Mill around 1921.

Further up Black Rock Road at the intersection with Germantown Road was "Brownstown," a community of African-American farmers and tradespeople. The settlement was named for William Brown, who built a log cabin on ten acres in the area in 1868. A pious man, Brown hosted church services for his neighbors in his cabin. "Brownstown" grew rapidly, and had its own schoolhouse and church by 1878.

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How the Mill Worked
Black Rock Mill and Great Seneca Creek
White's Ferry
The Cliff Bland Recreation Area
Darnestown
The Signal Corps and Wartime Communications
The Civil War in Darnestown
Civil War Troops & Darnestown Residents
Darnestown: A Strategic Point of Defense
Disease, Death, and Medical Discoveries During the Civil War

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