History at Hook's Mill
Around the Corner
Hey folks - here is a bit of history from the Hills and Hollows of West Virginia! This was published in my Around the Corner column in The Hampshire Review on December 21, 2022.
Just around the corner from Capon Bridge, down past Bubbling Springs and out on Hook’s Mill Road sit the Archer family farms. There is a lot of history surrounding the gravel lanes, old homes, and foundations of businesses past.
“This is my grandmother’s and grandfather’s house,” Glenn Archer III recalls. “Every summer, I would sit on this porch with my grandfather, looking over their massive garden.” That house once served as the Inn at Hook’s Mill.
The Archer family history starts with Glenn Archer Senior. He grew up on a 5,000-acre ranch in Kansas. After graduating from college, he moved to Topeka, Kansas, and eventually worked in the Governor’s office.
In the 1940s, Glenn Archer Senior and his wife, Ruth, moved their family to Silver Spring, Maryland. But they missed having open land around them.
In the early 1950s, Glenn Senior saw a newspaper ad for a farm in West Virginia. He sent his son, Glenn Archer Jr., to inspect the property for a vacation home.
“Check out the house, barn, ponds and the fence lines,” the senior Archer told him.
Junior returned excited. He told his dad, “They have so much deer out there; we are going to love it!”
Glenn and Ruth bought that farm on South Hook’s Mill Road. They loved the open fields, surrounding woods and the tranquil Cacapon River that flowed along the farm. Over the years, the Archer family purchased adjoining farms on the north side of the river. These properties once were part of the thriving community of Hook’s Mill.
From about the 1820s to the 1930s, Hook’s Mill included a mill, a schoolhouse, an inn, a blacksmith business and several homes. The gravel lane was a pioneer road surveyed by George Washington. Hook’s Mill was built on the banks of the Cacapon River, which gave it life.
The Archer family history is more recent at Hook’s Mill. When Glenn the III was growing up, his family would head to the farm from Northern Virginia.
“Every single weekend, we would be here,” Glenn explained. “After working in the garden all morning, we would jump in the river.”
Glenn, his brother, sisters and cousins would bale hay, ride their grandfather’s horses, hunt deer, and play in the river and woods.
“I shot my first groundhog sitting on my grandfather's lap,” Glenn recalled. “I learned to drive a truck in these fields.”
Today, the grandchildren of Glenn Archer Senior share ownership of the farms for weekend retreats, family gatherings, and business ventures. The fields are leased out to local farmers.
Glenn the III also owns the blacksmith house and a few other properties up the road. Preserving these properties for the family also helps protect the river.
“I am destined to protect this river,” Glenn states. “That’s my goal, at least for this little section here.” The Cacapon River is an integral part of life for the Archers.
Glenn and his wife Jenny also work beyond the Archer property borders. Jenny is the Board Chair of the River House and serves on the Program Committee for the West Virginia Humanities Council. Glenn is a board member of the Friends of the Cacapon River.
“The river has always been important to my family and me,” Glenn said.“It’s important that we protect it for generations to come.” His siblings and cousins also bring their children and grandkids. Today, there are 16 great-grandchildren of Glenn Archer Senior exploring the woods and the river along Hook’s Mill Road.
The holiday season is here, and families are gathering. The Archer family will celebrate along the Cacapon River and make a bit of their own history just around the corner.
With a farm background and degrees in forestry and entomology from West Virginia University, Peter Wood completed his 30-year career as a science communicator with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Now retired and living full-time in Hampshire County, he is exploring our rivers, forests, and communities to share their stories.