WALKERS MILL COMMUNITY
A little bit of the history about Walkers’ Mill Community…
On March 16th, 1925, a group of in-laws, relatives, friends and acquaintances all began their journey starting the Walkers’ Mill Community.
Two hundred and four acres filled with creeks, pine, and wild muscadines allowed its occupants to soon call this place home, build their lives and make many memories. Walkers’ Mill was home to a number of mills through its history which served as a prominent fixture of the community, providing many jobs and a booming business for its time.
The land remained undivided for 50 years. All the families at the Mill developed a strong sense of community spirit.
Barney Bunt, the author of the book “A Place Called Walkers Mill“, recalled that father Wilton Bunt with sons Raymond, Felton, and Barnie operated a sawmill at the intersection of Highway 449 and Airlite Road, some three miles east of Walkers Mill, from 1934 to 1936, before relocating the next year to Walkers Mill. These smaller mills, at times called “peckerwood” and “doodlebug” and “whippoorwill mills” could cut 10,000 feet daily. In 1937, they moved the Mill to Walkers Mill where it operated until 1949.
The original sawmill was in operation until the great depression, when the Mill shut down due to equipment failure and a plummeting economy. Not long after, a cotton gin was purchased and assembled nearby to provide jobs for the men during the summer and fall.
The small mills in the community survived until after the war when the great depression ended, and they proved to be in too much competition with mills attached to surrounding towns. This led to many people moving away and causing the community to thin.
Today, where the sawmill used to be, you can find small mounds of saw dust in pastures and a few houses from the early days of Walkers Mill.
The community is now home to many modern-day families and it has been an inspiration for the owners of the new muscadine vineyard and upcoming winery, who appropriately named their business after this historical background.
The Mill Barn has had the privilege of hosting the wedding of one of The Walker’s Family’s descendants in 2017 and one of The Bunt’s Family’s descendants in 2019.
