In his will, Beavers mentions his mills on Sandy Creek. About the same distance above the present bridge as the grist mill location is downstream, there is another dam still across Sandy Creek. The upstream mill was probably a water-powered saw mill. Another Black, Woodson Beavers, who was born in 1829, is described as a “sawyer.” It is very likely that Woodson was a former slave who worked at the Beavers’ sawmill on Sandy Creek. Woodson’s wife Mary A. Beavers was born in 1855. Their two children were Mary Beavers, born in 1856 and Edward Beavers, born in 1858. The family is described as Mulatto on census records. Della Beavers, a descendant of Woodson and Mary who lives in Pennsylvania, believes that Woodson’s mother was Emma Stovall of Henry County and that his name was changed when he was sold about 1858.

Woodson died on February 2, 1899 and was buried in Leemont Cemetery on Claiborne Street in Danville, Virginia. His wife Mary died on January 25, 1913 and was buried by his side. A section in the cemetery “for the colored” was acquired from Mr. Thomas J. Lee by the Town of North Danville. By 1880, this section was enclosed by a whitewashed wooden fence “of the same type as the white cemetery.” There was a charge of one dollar for the burial of residents of the town. A plank walk was constructed from the cemetery to North Main Street. North Danville later became known as Neapolis before it became a part of Danville in 1896.