Host Janet Michael talks with Nathan Stalvey about the Clarke County Historical Association's spring Art at the Mill show, upcoming VA250 events in Clarke County, and behind-the-scenes updates on the historic Burwell-Morgan Mill.

Art at the Mill – Spring 2026

• Dates: Saturday, April 18 – Sunday, May 3, 2026
• Hours: Sunday–Friday, 12–5pm | Saturdays, 10–5pm
• Location: Burwell-Morgan Mill, Millwood, VA
• Admission: $5 adults | $3 seniors | Children 12 & under free
• Free admission with a show postcard or print advertisement
• Submissions: 300+ artists, nearly 950 works
• Media: Oils, acrylics, pastels, pencil, charcoal, glass sculpture, wood turning, baskets, and more
• Art rotates daily as pieces sell; reserve works come down from storage throughout the first week
• Online Gallery available at opening — browse, call in, and purchase by phone during business hours
• Artist bios included in the online gallery

Behind the Scenes

• The jury/volunteer committee selects which works are accepted and chooses the signature postcard image
• Hanging is a curated process — color, style, and framing are all factored in for each placement
• Works range from 5 ft. x 4 ft. down to 4 in. x 4 in.
• Artists set their own prices based on experience, materials, framing, and time
• The show has been running since 1990

VA250 – America's 250th Anniversary Events in Clarke County

Clarke County's VA250 Committee brings together local nonprofits, businesses, and organizations for a multi-year series of events running through 2031.

Upcoming Highlights:

• April 18 @ 2pm – Taking Tea and Taxes — Celeste Fetta, Chief Educator at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, speaks at Barns Rose Hill on material culture and the revolutionary spark behind colonial tea culture
• May 16 (Saturday evening) – Liberty Ball at Long Branch — black-tie celebration of America's 250th, featuring music, fife and drum, and food
• May 17 @ 2pm – Blandy at 100: Communities that Give Rise to Scientific Discovery — talk at Blandy Experimental Farm
• May 17 @ 2pm – Nathan Stalvey presents Religion in Early America: From Colony to the Republic, tracing the First and Second Great Awakenings from the 1740s to the 1840s
• 4th of July – Coordinated community events; CCHA plans to grind red, white, and blue corn at the Burwell-Morgan Mill

Mill Updates

• Mill Dam project: Complete — a major restoration that had been a long-running concern
• Greater face wheel repairs: Underway — the gear connecting the water wheel to the grindstones needs new mill teeth, being hand-crafted by a certified historic millwright to original spec
• Mill grinding expected to resume mid-May (pending repairs)
• Future projects: mill pond dredging, water wheel maintenance

Support the Clarke County Historical Association

• Memberships, donations, and volunteers are vital — volunteer hours count toward grant applications
• Learn more: clarkehistory.org
• Facebook & Instagram: @ClarkeHistory