The Neabsco Mills Ironworks complex, under the ownership of three generations of the Tayloe
family, of Richmond County, operated between 1737 and 1828. Located near this site, it was one
of the longest continually operating ironworks in present-day Northern Virginia. The 5,000-acre
iron plantation, which was worked by resident free laborers, indentured servants, and slaves, was
a multifaceted operation. The workers produced not only bar and pig iron for sale at home and
export to Great Britain, but also engaged in ship-building, milling, leatherworking, shoemaking,
and farming. The complex was an important supplier of iron for weaponry during the American
Revolution and the War of 1812.
Erected 1994