Martin's Grist Mill was established around 1804 on land beside the Road to Culpeper, where the river was crossed first by a ford and later by an iron bridge built in 1885. Its prosperity depended in part on this prime location, and the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, finished in 1152, bounded the property on the east side and continued north from the river about half a mile to Rappahannock Station. On August 19, 1862, Timothy O'Sullivan took a photograph about 200 yards downstream of Martin's Mill at Cow Ford, titled "Fugitive Negroes fording the Rappahannock (during Pope's retreat)," as the Federal Army retreated from Culpeper County. In the background of this well-known image are Martin's Mill, the miller's home, and the railroad bridge, while the scene captures freedom seekers emancipating themselves and beginning a journey toward an uncertain future. The mill continued under a series of owners through the 19th and early 20th centuries, and by about 1905 the property included 20 acres, water power rights and privileges, mill machinery of all kinds, shaftings, pulleys, a metal mill wheel, and tools including rollers, shovels, grindstone, wrenches, scoops, scales, weights, and office furniture.
