Heritage Weekend Tile 1974

Mill Island is the product of a union between a 1798 brick cottage and an 1840 Greek Revival mansion. The Greek Revival style is represented by the 1 story porch in the style of a small temple and a widows walk on the roof peak. The bricks, which were made on the premise for a period of 1.5 years before the house began, are aid in an American Bond. The columns are hand-cared Corinthian style. These are the only Corinthian style column in the South Branch Valley.

Inside the fifteen foot ceiling on the first floor are needed for the heavy cornice work high above each door and window. There is a large reception area in the front hall which leads to a staircase: a partially flying oval that reaches all the way to the third floor. From the ceiling of the third floor hangs a large lantern that lights the stairs.

To the right of the hall is the huge room (18' x 40') known in earlier days as the "ballroom" which is now referred to as a "drawing room." This room is finished with the same kind of heavy cornice work above each foot and window, but more elaborate by the addition of a dentil mold just under the top crown molding.

The dining room is in the 1798 portion of the house. The upstairs has five major bedrooms, a sleeping alcove, a large hallway, sitting room, a huge library, and two baths. In all there are some 18 rooms with fireplaces and three rooms without.

The hospitality of Mill Island never faltered. Build as a suitable background for the social success of Felix Seymore and his wife Sydney McNeil (of Willow Wall). The great ballroom, reception hall, parlors, and huge dining room were constantly full of dances, entertainment, and magnificent dinners.

During the Civil War, the house was but slightly damaged. One cannon ball in the upper right wall of the house (removed in the early 1900s) was the only sign that the house bore of the Civil War. The house was always open to folks from Moorefield who were suffering form "war nerves."