the lake

the dam

The dam that creates Colemans Lake was built around 1840. The lake was created in order to provide water to service the original mill that stood where an existing mill still stands today. The lake is fed by White Oak Creek which runs parallel to our property before being joined by Bar Swamp Creek and taking an eastward turn.  It continues running southeast, eventually merging with Stoney Creek, which feeds into the Albemarle Sound.  Colemans Lake Road originally ran across the top of the old dam and up through the front of our property where it is still visible today. At some point, however, it was rerouted and now lies slightly to the east of it’s original location.

Coleman’s Mill, lies on the property adjacent to ours….

“Coleman’s Mill (026-0109) is the smaller of the two surviving mills in Dinwiddie County. It represents the small “custom” mills for local farmers’ use that were widespread in the nineteenth century as opposed to the kinds of commercial operations such as the Baskerville Milling Company. The two-story weatherboarded structure, built at an existing mill seat in the north-central part of the county in 1898, is in good condition and contains much of the original mechanism. It features six-over-six sash windows and a stone pier foundation perched on a rock outcrop than forms the northern abutment to the wide dam. The mill, last used in 1952, was powered by a turbine fed by a concrete sluice. The large lake that provided water for the mill was developed in the early-to-mid- twentieth century as a recreational business, with a dance hall, swimming and fishing access, a marina, and a store. It was operated by Buster Coleman.” (Excerpt from, A Survey of Historic  Architecture in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, page 89)