As an official locality of the State of Virginia, the Town is here to serve our residents, businesses, and visitors. We are not associated with any political party. We want all persons to share in a welcoming spirit to enjoy all that Boones Mill's heritage and future has to offer.
Town History
“If you want to understand today you have to search yesterday.”
Pearl S. Buck, American novelist
In the 1740s, pioneers traveling by river and road from Eastern Virginia and Maryland, and Scotch-Irish and German families, coming down the Carolina Road (originally known as the Great Warrior Path), settled in what would become Franklin County, then the most western county in Virginia.
The County was formed in 1786 from parts of Bedford and Henry Counties by an act of the General Assembly. It was named for Benjamin Franklin, then Governor of Pennsylvania, where many settlers originated.
Boones Mill originally developed around the site of a mill, established by the Boone Family in 1786. Agriculture has figured prominently in Boones Mill and Franklin County’s 200-year history and was the occupation of most county residents until recent times. Tobacco was a leading crop in early Franklin County.
The nineteenth-century saw increasing industrialization. With the entry of the Norfolk and Western railroad in 1892, the Pumpkin Vine Route through the County and Boones Mill provided new access for industry. Tobacco factories, as well as diversified wood and textile-based industries, became significant components of the County’s economy. Boones Mill’s primary industry, North American Housing Corporation, closed in 2008. The former industrial site is being redeveloped by the Town for new businesses.
In 1927 the Town of Boones Mill was incorporated and comprised 525 acres. The Town’s boundaries have not been altered since that time.
In 2013 the Town of Boones Mill completed a survey of historic structures in the Town. The survey results and associated documentation were used as part of an application to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources for the designation of a historic district. The application was approved and district went into full affect in August 2014. There are 37 buildings and homes added to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and the the National Register. This designation continues to open doors to some exciting future possibilities for the town and its residents including tax breaks for the restoration of historic properties, tourism marketing, and national recognition. The Town will help with outreach to ensure that property owners are fully aware of incentives and opportunities related to the historic designation.
