Starting in 2012, a 35-foot timber headstock stood on Woolridge Road across from Mid-Lothian Mines Park. It was a replica of the frame that once sat over a Midlothian coal shaft. It was also the park's most visible feature from the road. In January 2025, an ArcGIS StoryMap on the mines noted that it had been "temporarily removed for repair." This Saturday, October 17, the park hosts its annual Mines Day without the headstock. A few miles of Midlothian Turnpike away, the Midlothian Day parade lines up under a host running it for the first time.
On the surface, the two events look much as they always have. What's different this year is who runs them. Sanctuary Rescue has taken over the parade and festival, and Chesterfield County is buying the mines park land it has leased since 2015. It has also committed to rebuilding the missing headstock.
Saturday, Hour by Hour
Both events land on the same Saturday by design. The Mid-Lothian Mines and Rail Roads Foundation's event page says Mines Day "is offered in conjunction with Midlothian Village Day," the older name for the parade and festival. Here's how the day lines up from published schedules:
| Time | Where | What |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 a.m. | Winfree Memorial Church, 13617 Midlothian Tpk at Coalfield Rd | Parade staging begins |
| 9:00 a.m. | Midlothian Tpk, heading toward Amfit Way | Parade, about 0.7 mile |
| By 10:00 a.m. | Midlothian Middle School grounds | Festival opens as the parade wraps |
| 10:00 or 11:00 a.m. | Mid-Lothian Mines Park, N. Woolridge Rd | Mines Day opens |
| 10:30 a.m., noon, 1:30 p.m., 3:00 p.m. | Mid-Lothian Mines Park | Guided park tours |
| 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. | Departing the park | Trolley tours on African American history in Midlothian |
| 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. | Mid-Lothian Mines Park | Bagpipes, Pipe Major David Hinton |
| Noon | Mid-Lothian Mines Park | Scealai, Irish music |
| 2:00 p.m. | Mid-Lothian Mines Park | The Brass Web Quartet |
| 4:00 p.m. | Mid-Lothian Mines Park | Mines Day closes |
The parade timing comes from a September 24 listing posted by the Old Dominion Historical Fire Society, which is marching this year. That listing says the parade will "conclude by 10:00 AM, just in time for the start of the Midlothian Day Festival." The Mines Day lineup comes from the foundation's events page.
The two Mines Day sources don't agree on the start time. The foundation lists 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The county's Parks and Recreation registration page lists 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The addresses differ too. The foundation's event notice gives 13286 North Woolridge Road, while the county calendar lists the park at 13301 North Woolridge Road. Both say parking and admission are free, and the county adds that concessions will be for sale. If you're planning to arrive right at the start, check midlomines.org that morning. Neither source we found lists a closing time for the festival or a parking plan for the middle school.
A New Name at the Front of the Parade
The official Midlothian Day site calls this the 44th annual parade and says the event "for nearly half a century" has filled the third Saturday of October with a morning parade, then a festival of crafters, makers, food trucks, stage acts and children's activities at Midlothian Middle School.
The host is new. In October 2025, a Chesterfield County bulletin promoting the 43rd annual event named Midlothian Moms as the local nonprofit hosting with Parks and Recreation. Midlothian Moms says it has planned and run the festival since at least 2023. For 2026, Sanctuary Rescue holds that role. It describes itself as a Midlothian-based 501(c)(3) founded in 2010 to rescue shelter dogs, and it has since grown to care for other vulnerable animals. We didn't find any public explanation of the handoff.
The new host is already putting its own stamp on the parade. The parade notice the fire society posted calls 2026 "Sanctuary Rescue's very first year hosting" and says parade entry is free to mark the occasion. It also suggests a theme for floats and walking groups: "Pumpkins, Puppies & Parton." Prize categories include the most creative take on the theme, the best community spirit and the best business entry. The event's own parade page still lists a $25 entry fee per group, so would-be marchers should confirm with the organizers.
The Park the County Stopped Renting
Mines Day is the larger change. Mid-Lothian Mines Park opened in 2004. The foundation describes it as a free 44-acre preserve of wooded stone ruins, open daily from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. It's busier than many residents might guess. According to a January 30, 2026 Board of Supervisors roundup, it's one of the county's busiest parks, with more than 155,000 visitors a year.
Until this year, Chesterfield didn't own most of the land. The same roundup says the county had leased the bulk of the property since 2015 and was now buying 38.5 acres. The negotiated price is $1.7 million, less a $215,000 credit toward rebuilding the headstock replica and the required archaeological reporting. An independent appraisal valued the property at $3.6 million.
The county gave two reasons for the purchase. Owning the land "removes the possibility of losing future access to a heavily utilized park." It also adds acreage in the Midlothian District, which, according to the roundup, has the smallest share of park acreage among Chesterfield's five magisterial districts. The roundup also mentions room for future park amenities and more history programming with the nonprofit foundation. For a park whose biggest annual event is a history day, that matters most. The programming no longer sits on rented ground.
The Headstock Goes Back Over the Shaft
The headstock was part of the purchase deal. The county agreed to rebuild the replica that, in the roundup's words, "was constructed by the current owner when the property was originally developed," and said money for the rebuild had been budgeted separately from the purchase. The foundation's news page credits Tom Garner, a founder and president of the Mid-Lothian Mines & Rail Roads Foundation, with leading the effort to raise the 35-foot reproduction on June 14, 2012, across Woolridge Road from the park. This year's Mines Day schedule thanks Thomas Garner of the foundation for his support.
On October 7, 2026, Chesterfield posted a project update describing the new structure:
This structure recreates the original headstock erected on this site in 1836, which stood directly above the 625-foot Middle Shaft mine.
According to the same update, the new frame uses kiln-dried timber pressure-treated with a copper spray finish, plus stainless steel plates and hardware and copper flashing, all chosen for durability while keeping to the original design. The county expects it to be finished in spring 2027. That means Saturday's visitors will see Mines Day with the headstock still under construction. The next Mines Day should be the first in the park's new era with the landmark standing again.
The shaft under that frame is the reason the park exists. The foundation's historic overview puts the Middle Shaft at 625 feet deep. The same page records the 1882 explosion at the nearby Grove Shaft, which killed 32 miners. The county's event description calls the site the source of the earliest commercially mined coal in North America, which led to Virginia's first railroad and its first hard-surfaced road. A tunnel links the parking area to the historic sites and to trails with interpretive signs leading out to the Grove Shaft ruins.
The Trolley That Leaves the Park
The most notable item on this year's Mines Day program takes place off park grounds. The 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. trolley tours head to First Baptist Church of Midlothian and Midlothian Elementary School to "highlight African American history in Midlothian." The 2025 StoryMap by Mary Finley-Brook, PhD, argued that coal-tourism sites tend to focus on technology and trade and to leave out other parts of the story. This year's tour route takes Mines Day beyond the shafts and into the village around them.
That connects back to the land purchase. The county listed better history programming with the foundation as one benefit of owning the property. The trolley tours, the park walks at four times through the day and the rebuilt headstock are the kind of programming that ownership now supports.
The Rest of October on the Same Calendar
Two more free dates fill out the rest of the month before Halloween:
- Spooktacular, Tuesday, October 20, 6 to 8:30 p.m., at River City Sportsplex, 13030 Genito Road. It's run by Chesterfield Parks and Recreation, the county partner on both Saturday events. The county's listing promises candy, vendors, music, bounce houses, spooky train rides and face painting for all ages.
- Halloween Main Street Costume Stroll, Saturday, October 24, 5 to 8 p.m., at Westchester Commons. This is a new event, run by the center rather than the county. It starts near Books-a-Million and heads toward NAPA Kitchen & Wine, with merchant trick-or-treating and family activities.
When the new headstock goes up over the Middle Shaft next spring, Search RVA Homes will keep following what the park purchase and its new amenities mean for the streets off North Woolridge Road and Midlothian Turnpike. If you live near the parade route or the park and want to know where your home stands before then, Get Your Instant Home Valuation.
