Fortney's Mill wasn't always a swimming hole.......Fortney’s Mill has a rich history. In the late 1830’s David H. Fortney built the first Mill complete with a large overshot waterwheel in Irondale Valley which is today simply referred to as “Fortney’s Mill.” David Fortney’s grandfather came to this country and fought in the Revolutionary War on the side of the colonists. Even though David H. Fortney built the Mill, his wife Angelina was the principal miller for a long time. The flour she ground had a wide spread reputation and people came from miles around to get it. The Mill was a great meeting place for the women where they could sit and talk while waiting for their grist to be ground. The children, if they came along, would often fish or swim in the deep Mill hole while they waited for their mothers or fathers to finish at the Mill. David H. Fortney and his wife had a son who was a judge of the Circuit Court of Preston County. David H. Fortney sold the Mill to Jonathan Fortney who operated the Mill until 1885. It is said that Jonathan Fortney caught the last panther seen in the area. During Jonathan’s occupation of the Mill, Indian trails were still being used. Civilization was coming to the valley because of its abundance of iron, coal, limerock and timber. George Harman built the Harman Furnace at the site where the panther was caught. Jonathan Fortney built a second story onto the Mill and a shed to house a saw mill operated by an undershot waterwheel. The grist mill and saw mill were kept busy supplying food and lumber as what was once a wilderness soon became a thriving village of several hundred inhabitants and an industry that employed hundreds of workers. Besides the grist mill and saw mill, Jonathan Fortney made sewing needles, was a gun-smith and a millwright. The Mill changed hands over the years and at one time was owned by George W. Orr and Son under whose ownership a thresher steam engine was used for backup power when the water in Three Fork Creek became too low. About 1910, the mill property was sold to Louis Fortney and James Fortney, son and grandson of Jonathan Fortney. Around 191 5, a small store was added which was also used as a dance hall for square dancing. Later, Louis Fortney moved to Edgewater, Colorado. At the time he left West Virginia, he was the sole owner of the Mill. His family did not live in West Virginia and did not understand or value the Mill property. For many years the Irondale Homecoming Association would hold its annual meeting in the grove near the old mill park. The first annual meeting took place in 1932. One hundred people attended. At a meeting on August 23,1936 fifteen hundred attended. Three hundred cars were parked on the grounds near the grove by Fortney’s Mill. One of the chief amusements was the old swimming pool. A diving board was erected under the old mill. Congressman Jennings Randolph and his mother were honored guests of the day the Newburg High School band was present to play appropriate music. Randolph spoke of the future possibilities of Irondale as an industrial center because of the undeveloped, high grade raw material still located in the area. Even after the Mill was gone, the deep pool below the “cascade” was a favorite spot for young people to swim in during hot summer days. Perhaps parts of the mill would still be standing today, if campers and picnickers hadn’t started taking parts of the wooden structure and using them for firewood. The end came in the early forties, when what was left of the mill was torn down.