Musgrove's Mill stood on the Enoree River in Laurens County, several miles north of Clinton, where Edward Musgrove built a grist mill to use water power and take advantage of its nearness to a main road and a river crossing. In the mid-1700's, backcountry residents had a high demand for places to grind their crops without making trips that could take days, and in the early upstate settlements grist mills were built along the area's abundant rivers. Early mills were powered by water wheels that turned paired millstones, an upper and lower, to grind grain and corn on the bed stone, with grooves and slats cut by hand into the grinding stone to aid the crushing. Because of its location, Musgrove's Mill drew British interest during the American Revolution, and British and Tory troops used it as a central point for moving supplies, fording the river, and helping establish control over transportation and communication in the region. On August 19, 1780, Patriot forces fought an overwhelming number of British and Tory troops there in a fierce battle that ended in a Patriot victory.