Water has an endless supply of magical power. It can power a wheel that turns a gear that spins a grind stone, making it possible to grind grains into flour for bread. It also has the power to calm and inspire if you take the time to let it work its wonders on you.
I shot this on Saturday 10-17-2009 at Glade Creek Grist Mill at Babcock State Park in Clifftop, West Virginia. This is from down at the water level downstream looking upstream over the rapids and waterfalls at the Mill. Shot as a single 25 second long shutter exposure at F32 with the Singh-Ray vari-N-Duo filter knocking the light down about five stops. Working the Singh-Ray filter’s two adjusting rings while holding an umbrella is not an easy task. :–)
The Glade Creek Grist Mill is a new mill that was completed in 1976 at Babcock State Park. Fully operable, this mill was built as a re-creation of one which once ground grain on Glade Creek long before Babcock became a state park. Known as Cooper’s Mill, it stood on the present location of the park’s administration building parking lot.
The mill was created by combining parts and pieces from three mills which once dotted the state. The basic structure of the mill came from the Stoney Creek Grist Mill which dates back to 1890. It was dismantled and moved piece by piece to Babcock from a spot near Campbelltown in Pocahontas County. After an accidental fire destroyed the Spring Run Grist Mill near Petersburg, Grant County, only the overshot water wheel could be salvaged. Other parts for the mill came from the Onego Grist Mill near Seneca Rocks in Pendleton County.
For more information on visiting the Mill and Babcock State Park, visit their web site.
