History Of Mineral

In 1795 Abraham H. Davis, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, bought 50 acres with a tavern building from Thomas Merewether. This tavern still stands on the west side of Old Tolersville Road. In 1801 trustees for Abraham Davis sold the tavern property to Nathan Harris who ran the tavern until his death in 1829.

William F. Toler became the owner of the tavern tract at a public auction of the Nathan Harris estate. By this time the "tavern tract" contained about 331 acres. Toler had a tavern license renewed each year from 1829 to 1843. At this time the area was called Tolersville.

Toler built another tavern near the new Virginia Central Railroad - the present day site of the Mineral Volunteer Fire Department. There were several iron furnaces near the area that shipped their ore on the railroad from Tolersville. Before Toler had died, Reuben B. Davis had received a tavern license and is believed he rented the store-tavern and post office at the newer Tolersville Tavern.

Davis bought the tavern after Toler's death and purchased other acreage which eventually amounted to 477 acres. Besides the tavern and post office he had a hardware store and a tannery as well as a farm on the property.

A depot was built on property sold by Davis to the Virginia Central Railroad which was burned during the Civil War. At this time the area was called Davis' Turnout.

After his death in 1870, Davis's estate was a number of years being settled. In August of 1890 a group of Louisa County investors known as the Mineral City Mining, Manufacturing and Land Company bought the Davis' farm and tavern. They hired Walter L. Bishop to survey and divide the town into city lots and began to sell the land This company came into financial difficulties and the property passed through various owners. Mineral City Land Company of Newport News being the last one. Mineral as it was now known was incorporated in 1902.

In 1939 a suit was brought against this company by the County of Louisa and Town of Mineral for nonpayment of taxes and the remaining 1,600 lots, not already purchased, in Mineral were bid in by H. H. Walton for the taxes owed.

The town received its name from the many mines in the area. Iron deposits were discovered along several branches of Contrary Creek in the early 1700s. Rough and Ready Furnace operated 1835-1852, and Victoria Furnace operated from about 1839-1870s near Mineral. Some gold mines were in operation from 1835-1900. The three largest pyrites mines were: the Arminius Mine sometimes called the Copper mine because of the high copper content in the ore; the Boyd M. Smith Mine and the Sulphur Mine being in operation between 1880 and 1920. There was a tram road or railroad spur leading from the mines to the depot in Mineral. None of the mine buildings survive today.