Advance Mills Historic District, once an important milling village in western Albemarle County, is centered around a dam on the north fork of the Rivanna River. The Fray family, which moved to the area in 1833, built and shaped the community. The family was responsible for the construction of almost all the components of the district. Included in the district are some 20 contributing resources, including four houses with numerous outbuildings, a general store, the mill site, the dam, and a metal truss bridge. Milling was carried out there from the 1830s until fire destroyed the mill in 1948. In addition to the usual grains, the mill also processed wool and sumac for dyeing cloth. The Advance Mills Historic District is sited in bucolic rolling countryside around the intersection of two country roads and along the banks of the river.