Colvin Run Mill: A Peek into 19th Century Community and Technology

Colvin Run Mill Historic Site
Fairfax County Park Authority
10017 Colvin Run Rd.
Great Falls, VA 22066
(703) 759-2771 (Education Department)

Instructional Unit:
The focus of this unit is examining life in a typical 19th century community and its technology.

Curriculum Unit:
Grade 4
Social Studies

Objectives:
Upon successful completion of this unit the student will be able to:

1. Explain why Colvin Run Mill was considered one of the focal points of the community.
2. Identify types of machinery used in a 19th-century mill.
3. Identify the occupation of and tools used by crafts people.
4. List at least three items that would be found in a barn, store and mill.
5. Make apple cider.
6. Locate Colvin Run Mill, nearby streams, major roads, cardinal directions, keys and scale on a map.
7. In an essay, discuss why he/she would have liked or not liked to have lived in 19th century Virginia. The student must backup their argument with facts.
8. The student will pretend he/she is an inventor in the 19th century. The student will discuss in essay form what kind of inventions they would have created based on the period's existing technology and why.

Pre-Visit Activities:

1. Before taking students on the field trip, the teacher should preview the site. The visit should include taking notes on pertinent information that would supplement material already discussed in class. It would also help in planning the logistics. The teacher should also obtain a copy of the learning kit to see what the museum considers important.
2. Before going to the site, students will write a journal entry predicting what they think it was like living in the 19th century. The journal entry will focus on work, family, community and recreation. The class will discuss vocabulary words related to the visit. These words will include: blacksmith, cider press, community, crane, gear, gristmill, harvest, inventor, and technology. The students will be informed that there will be several follow up activities to the field trip. Name tags will be made so that the museum staff can address students by name.
3. The teacher should suggest that the students wear comfortable and warm clothes and tell students to bring the appropriate admission fee and a small amount of spending money for items at the general store. Students will eat lunch upon returning to school. The class will be divided into three groups at the mill. Three parents will be asked to serve as chaperones. The tour is split into three interpretive centers: the mill, the barn, and the general store.

On-Site Activities:

1. Upon arriving, the class(es) will be split into three groups. Each group will have at least one chaperone, depending on the size of the group. The teacher will divide time to be spent in each group. All of these factors will facilitate crowd control and keep each group to no more than 20 students.
2. Students will spend about thirty minutes at each center.

a. At the mill, students will learn how grain is ground by a water-powered mill. Students will learn why a particular spot was originally chosen to locate a mill. Students will also learn how this mill was the site of many technological inventions by Oliver Evans, who was issued the third U.S. patent. Many of his inventions made the mill become more efficient and require less manpower.
b. At the barn, students will learn why each member of the community pulls together for a successful harvest in the farm community. At this center, students will help make apple cider. This hands-on experience will give them a taste of one simple task/chore done by a farmer.
c. At the General Store, students will learn why the general store served not only as a commercial center, but also a community center of Colvin Run.

Follow-Up Activities:

1. In an essay, students will explain how the location for the mill was chosen (water, established road, supply of appropriate wood). Students will state that the mill was a merchant mill used by villagers and travelers. People either came to the mill for its services or to help keep the mill functioning.
2. Students will complete a worksheet provided by museum personnel.
3. Students will each be given a map of Fairfax County with Colvin Run Mill to identify the following: the mill, bodies of water, route 7 and Colvin Run Mill Road (the original road the mill was built next to). Students will write cardinal directions on the map and identify the scale of the map.
4. In terms of the essays found in objectives 7 and 8, students should include the following: living conditions, job, housing, farming, and lifestyle. Students can base their invention on one that they heard about on the field trip or make-up their own. Students should state why their invention would be useful.

Appendices: none

Bibliography: none
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