Over two hundred years ago, the community of Mundlesville flourished at Willow Grove-so named for the stands of willow trees that once graced the property. Mundlesville, Page County’s first settlement, was home to a flour mill, saw mill, blacksmith shop, post office and John Mundle’s store.
Prior to the establishment of Mundlesville, Willow Grove was part of Joseph Ruffner’s 1200 acre Hawksbill land tract. Notables in the Ruffner family include Joseph’s grandson, Dr. Henry Ruffner and his son Dr. William H. Ruffner. Henry was born in 1789 on property located in Mundlesville. He served as president of Washington College (Washington & Lee University) in Lexington for twelve years. William was also a prominent educator in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 1870, he became the first superintendent of schools in the state. William founded Longwood College and developed the charter to organize Virginia Agriculture and Mechanical College (Virginia Tech). To this day, Virginia Tech’s highest service award is the William H. Ruffner Medal.
The farm house is located directly across the Hawksbill Creek from Willow Grove Farm Market. The federal style manor house was built by Samuel Forrer in 1825. The stately home contains fourteen rooms each with its own fireplace. The bricks used throughout the construction were handmade on site. Additionally, the extensive stone walls surrounding the house were quarried from limestone located on the property. Over the years, the house has been used as a church, a meeting hall, and social center for events such as weddings and dances.
The current five-story mill was built around 1885 and is the third structure on the immense rock foundation. As a community gathering place for several generations, Willow Grove Mill served the milling and social needs of the surrounding communities.
The 18 foot overshoot wheel was powered by a one and a half mile mill race and pond which was constructed with earth covered stone walls. Several areas of the mill race were hand blasted through large limestone deposits. The water powered mill operated commercially until 1943 when more efficient electric mills became prominent.
Today, the Mill serves as a historical marker for Page County. Numerous people stop by to take pictures, ask questions, and observe the 125 year old architecture.
In 1907, Nelson H. Clark, Sr. and Mattie Lee Sours Clark purchased the Willow Grove estate. Nelson was a prominent railroad and highway contractor in Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. While Nelson was away building a railroad line in the mountainous terrain of southern West Virginia, Mattie Lee acquired Willow Grove for $20,000 in gold bullion. For the next 65 years, the Clark Family operated a dairy at Willow Grove and sold milk to stores and residences in Luray. In the early 1970’s, the Clark family purchased Hereford cows and have been in the beef cattle business ever since.
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services recognized the Clark Family in 2007 for continuously owning and operating Willow Grove for 100 years. The fifth generation is now walking the fields, fishing the creeks, and caring for the livestock.
