Stamp art courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service
Clifftop, WV -(Ammoland.com)- The iconic Glade Creek Grist Mill at Babcock State Park, a favorite of photographers from around the world, is now featured on a stamp issued by the United States Postal Service.
On Sept. 29, 2014, in Danese, West Virginia, the U.S. Postal Service issued the Priority Mail stamp, priced at $5.75, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 10 stamps. The stamp went on sale to the public that same day.
“Our staff at Babcock was aware the mill was being considered as a stamp image, and we’re delighted to learn it is a reality,” said Babcock Supt. Clinton Cochran. “The postmaster in Fayetteville called and told us it was being issued, and we are honored. The stamp is beautiful.”
Babcock State Park is located in Clifftop in Fayette County. The park’s most popular attraction is the grist mill. Cabins, campground, riding stables, hiking and fishing also are part of the park’s appeal. The park is open mid-April through October. A live webcam focused on the mill and showing peak fall foliage is online at BabcockSP.
The Glade Creek Grist Mill is a 1976 re-creation of an old mill that once stood nearby. It was constructed of parts from three historic West Virginia mills. The stamp art captures the beauty of the structure in its pristine setting along Glade Creek in Babcock State Park, in autumn. Designed by art director Derry Noyes, this stamp features the work of illustrator Dan Cosgrove.
To learn more about the stories behind U.S. postal stamps, visit USPS Stamps and USPS Stamps Glade-Creek-Grist-Mill.
About the Glade Creek Grist Mill Stamp
From USPS Stamps:
- With this stamp, the U.S. Postal Service celebrates one of West Virginia’s most photographed landmarks, the Glade Creek Grist Mill.
- The stamp art captures the historic, aged beauty of the mill in its pristine setting along Glade Creek. The water flows by the mill and around boulders and rock formations along the creek bed. Surrounding the mill are trees in early autumn colors of greens, yellows and oranges.
- Located in Babcock State Park in Fayette County, West Virginia, the mill looks as though it has existed on that site for hundreds of years. In reality, it is a modern re-creation, completed in 1976, of a mill that had once stood nearby on Glade Creek. The look is authentic, however, as the new mill was constructed from parts taken from three historic West Virginia mills.
- The Stoney Creek Grist Mill provided much of the basic structure. The 1890s mill was moved to Babcock piece by piece from its location near Campbelltown in Pocahontas County. Other parts came from the Onego Grist Mill, located near Seneca Rocks in Pendleton County. The water wheel was salvaged after a fire destroyed most of the Spring Run Grist Mill near Petersburg in Grant County.
- Mills were once the center of local farming communities, offering the necessary service of grinding wheat, corn and other grains, a backbreaking task when done by hand. The mill stands as a monument to the more than 500 West Virginia gristmills that were in operation at the turn of the 20th century. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp with original art by Dan Cosgrove.
The Glade Creek Grist Mill stamp is being issued at the Priority Mail price. The famous Glade Creek Grist Mill at Babcock State Park in Fayette County, West Virginia, is featured on a new Priority Mail stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service.
About the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR)
It is the statutory mission of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) to provide and administer a long-range comprehensive program for the exploration, conservation, development, protection, enjoyment and use of the natural resources of the State of West Virginia.