Our History

Roxbury Mills was founded in 1929 in the historic city of Fredericksburg, Virginia.  We became a leader in grain and feed sales for the area and we have grown into the finest garden center and nursery in the region.  The name "Roxbury Farm & Garden Center" was adopted, as it is more descriptive of the current twenty-first century trade, but we still crack a little corn too!  We are a Growise Center with Certified Virginia Nurserymen on staff.

We hope you will enjoy your visit to our web site.  We created this web site just for you, the gardener. When you visit our store, you will find exciting new items to the market, as well as our standard merchandise.  We encourage you to let us know what you would like to see available to you on-line.  Please feel free to e-mail us with your concerns and suggestions.  We will promptly reply.

Roxbury Farm & Garden Center maintains old-fashioned values when it comes to serving you.

Sincerely,

Herb Wilson
General Manager

DETAILED HISTORY

Roxbury Mills was established in Fredericksburg, VA in 1929. The Brulle family had been involved in the manufacturing of feed and flour for many years prior.  It is believed the Brulle's were involved in Germanna Mills across from Old Mill Park on Sophia Street.  The Brulle's were actively milling flour and making chairs at Roxbury Mill in Thornburg VA in the 1890's.  Today this mill is an active bed & breakfast known as Roxbury Mill Bed & Breakfast. The mill was constructed in the mid 1800's across from a large farm known as Roxbury Farm, thus the name Roxbury Mill. The farm was formed as a British land grant in Colonial times to the Stanard family.  When Mr. A. L. Brulle moved his business to Fredericksburg in 1929, he kept the name Roxbury Mills.  

Old records around the store indicate that Roxbury Mills had a net worth of $42,000 in 1929 and $25,000 in 1935.  This paints a fairly clear picture of the effects of the Great Depression.  It has been said that in the early 1950's, Roxbury Mills was the largest handler of grain in the region, with  trucks moving grain to Baltimore, Norfolk, Petersburg, and so forth. The original store was located on Lafayette Boulevard near Kenmore Avenue, a block from the current location. The original store burned in the mid 1950's and the store was relocated to 622 Kenmore Avenue, two blocks from the current location.

A large wooden grain elevator was in the same block across the Boulevard from Jackson Street, located on a rail spur for shipping purposes. The grain elevator was built by Roxbury Mills on City property and rented from the City through the years.  By the time Henry Lynn got to town, the old elevator was in bad disrepair.  Roxbury stopped using the structure for grain processing in 1977 and it was torn down in 1979.  Andy Lynn was the last person to work in the elevator and has tales of grain-fed rats to make your hair stand on end.  OSHA would also do "stand-still somersaults" about the structure in this day and age.  Times have changed.  People worked hard in dangerous conditions, but he says it was an enjoyable experience in an era now past.

The manager of Roxbury Mills was a man named Ishmael Pugh, who supposedly worked at the company for 48 years, retiring as manager in the early 1970's.  In the spring of 1973, Henry F. Lynn Jr. was hired to manage Roxbury Mills.  The company had lost much of the volume it had in the 50's, and a corporation was formed to purchase the business in August of 1973.  Roxbury Mills was relocated to 601 Jackson Street in 1974, to a larger building "cater-cornered" from the current location.  The volume of business doubled in two years, still consisting primarily of livestock feed and grain products.  Henry was somewhat of a maverick, electing to stay open until 1:00 on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons, ultimately becoming the first feed store in town to stay open all day on Wednesdays. (Years back, towns rolled up the sidewalks on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons so the proprietors could have some time for chores on the farm.)

In 1977 opportunity knocked, and Roxbury Mills purchased the current location of 601 Lafayette Boulevard.  In 1986, adjoining property was aquired, consisting of a second warehouse, and the vacant field which is now the nursery.  The business continued to adapt and grow with the times under the guidance of Henry Lynn, and his wife Sunny Lynn.  In the early 1990's the management began a transition to Henry's son, Andy, who worked at Roxbury for more than 30 years, and had a way with people that really brought them "Down-Town!"  Andy stepped down from the position of General Manger in 2006, and a smooth transition was made as Herb Wilson, another long time employee, moved into this position.  Roxbury employs about 12 full time staff members, and 8 to 15 part time employees, in a flourishing seasonal business supported by the wonderful customer base of the Fredericksburg area. The feed and grain sales have gone from 65% of sales in the mid-1970's to less than 10% of sales by 2000, which reflects the changes in the area.

originally written by Andy Lynn, with revisions by Tammy Schoenhardt

(Please feel free to send us any corrections or additions to this information).
Roxbury Mills Grain Elevator was built in 1929 and razed in 1979.
Painting by Robert Antinori 1972