Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 12/05/2007
NRHP Listing Date 02/21/2008
NRHP Reference Number 08000078
Causey’s Mill, constructed in 1866, serves as a visual reminder of Newport News’s nearly vanished agrarian past. This small, two-story wood building is one of the two last surviving gristmills on the peninsula, and the only one which still retains its original machinery. Constructed by William Causey shortly after the Civil War, the mill is the last in a series of mills located on the site since the 17th century, and was built on part of the original foundation of the prior Langhorne’s Mill. Included in the new machinery installed by Causey was a Leffel turbine wheel, manufactured by James Leffel & Company, that produced superior water-ground corn meal. The creation of Lake Maury in 1930 to supply Newport News with drinking water erased all signs of the original Causey’s Mill dam and mill pond, but the presence of the original machinery within the mill serves as a valuable source of information about the inner workings of the mill industry.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: January 19, 2023
