The Mill at Anselma | |
Location | 1730 Conestoga Road, Chester Springs, Pennsylvania |
---|---|
Coordinates | 40°4′53″N75°38′40″W / 40.08139°N 75.64444°W |
Built | 1747 |
NRHP reference No. | 73001616 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | April 13, 1973 [1] |
Designated NHL | April 5, 2005 [2] |
Designated PHMC | October 13, 2007 [3] |
The Mill at Anselma (a.k.a. Lightfoot Mill) is an archetypal small, 18th-century custom grain mill in Anselma, outside Chester Springs, Pennsylvania. It is probably the only surviving one in the United States with an intact colonial-era power transmission system. A custom grain mill typically ground cornmeal and flour only for local farmers, not for commercial distribution. [2] It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2005. [2]
Samuel Lightfoot built this custom grist mill in c. 1747 to mill flour for Chester Springs' early residents. During three centuries of operation, the Mill evolved to meet changing needs and became the center of the community of Anselma. The first of eight grist mills established in the Township of Pikeland, the Mill at Anselma was never the largest nor the most valuable. However, it provided a vital local flour milling service for early settlers living in Philadelphia's backcountry against the backdrop of a flourishing American grain economy in the late 18th century.
By the mid-19th century, Lightfoot's Mill supported Chester County's growing livestock and dairy economy by milling animal feed as well as flour under the ownership of John Oberholtzer. In 1872, the Pickering Valley Railroad connected Anselma's vibrant farming community with the markets of Philadelphia.
The Mill at Anselma was also home to the respected poet and social activist Sara Louisa Oberholtzer, who used her surroundings as a backdrop for her poems "At the Old Mill" and "Lost Music."
The Mill's final miller, Oliver E. Collins, and his family came to Anselma in 1919. During the Great Depression, the Collins family relied on their colonial-era grist mill to make a living. The family ran a saw mill and cider press, milled animal feed, and operated the Anselma Post Office from their home. Mr. Collins assembled a machine shop to create a repair service and sharpen lawn mower blades, and even cut hair for local residents. The mill remained active until 1982.
1747–1812 Samuel Lightfoot, William Lightfoot, Thomas Lightfoot
1812–1820 Lewis Rees, James Benson
1820–1859 Rees Sheneman
1859–1886 John Oberholtzer
1886–1919 Allen H. Simmers
1919–1982 Oliver E. Collins
Under the leadership of Samuel and Eleanor Morris, the French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust purchased the mill property from the estate of Oliver E. Collins in 1983. In 1999, the Mill at Anselma Preservation and Educational Trust was formed to complete the mill's restoration and create a historical attraction for the enjoyment and edification of schoolchildren, scholars, visitors, and the community.[ citation needed ]
Today, the Mill at Anselma connects visitors with America's rich industrial and agricultural past through tours and milling demonstrations. The Mill sells its own stoneground flour and cornmeal, and hosts a weekly farmer's market on its historic grounds.[ citation needed ] It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2005. [2] [4] A Pennsylvania state historical marker was placed outside the mill building in 2007.
Brandywine Creek is a tributary of the Christina River in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware in the United States. The Lower Brandywine is 20.4 miles (32.8 km) long and is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River with several tributary streams. The East Branch and West Branch of the creek originate within 2 miles (3 km) of each other on the slopes of Welsh Mountain in Honey Brook Township, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of their confluence.
This is a list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania. As of 2015, there are over 3,000 listed sites in Pennsylvania. All 67 counties in Pennsylvania have listings on the National Register.
Chester Springs is an unincorporated community in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is centered on West Pikeland Township, and extends into Charlestown Township, Upper Uwchlan Township, Wallace Township, East Nantmeal Township, and West Vincent Township. The Chester Springs Historic District is located in Chester Springs.
Glen Mills is an unincorporated community in Concord Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, located approximately 27 miles west of Philadelphia. The ZIP Code for Glen Mills is 19342.
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Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer was an American biographer and historical writer.
The Newlin Mill Complex, also referred to as The Newlin Grist Mill, is a water-powered gristmill on the west branch of Chester Creek near Concordville, Pennsylvania built in 1704 by Nathaniel and Mary Newlin and operated commercially until 1941. During its three centuries of operation, the mill has been known as the Lower Mill, the Markham Mill, the Seventeen-O-Four Mill and the Concord Flour Mill. In 1958 the mill property was bought by E. Mortimer Newlin, restored and given to the Nicholas Newlin Foundation to use as a historical park. Water power is still used to grind corn meal which is sold on site. The park includes five historical buildings, which were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, and 150 acres (61 ha) of natural woodland.
A gristmill grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated from its chaff in preparation for grinding.
The Warwick Furnace Farms is a historic district that is located in northern Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States that includes the ruins of an early iron furnace that was owned by Anna Rutter Nutt, widow of Samuel Nutt.
Gamble Mill, also known as Lamb Mill, Thomas Mill, Wagner Mill, and Bellefonte Flouring Mill, is an historic grist mill located at Bellefonte, Centre County, Pennsylvania.
The Gooseville Mill/Grist Mill is a historic mill on the North Branch Milwaukee River in Gooseville, Wisconsin. The mill was built in 1879 to replace an 1855 mill that had burned down. The mill is a small custom mill with board and batten siding and is typical of the custom mills common in Sheboygan County in the 1800s. A Lefel turbine powered the mill, replacing the paddle wheel used in the 1855 mill. A burr mill was used to grind the grain processed at the mill. As of 1984, the mill was still operational and occasionally used as a sawmill.
The Griesemer-Brown Mill Complex is an historic grist mill complex which is located on Monocacy Creek in Amity Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
The Nathan Cooper Gristmill is a historic gristmill on the Black River located at 66 NJ Route 24 in Chester Township, Morris County, New Jersey. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 21, 1976 for its significance in industry.
The Great Valley Mill, also known as the Old Grist Mill in the Great Valley, is an historic grist mill which is located in Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
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Captain Samuel Van Leer was a military officer from Pennsylvania who served as a captain in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and as a lieutenant in the Chester County Light Horse Volunteers from 1781 to 1785. After his retirement from the military, he owned the Reading Furnace ironworks.
The Colonial Industrial Quarter in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is considered America's earliest industrial park. Established by the colonial Moravians along the banks of the Monocacy Creek, the ten-acre site contains historic buildings such as the 1762 Waterworks, 1761 Tannery, 1869 Luckenbach Mill, 1748/1834 Gristmiller's House, reconstructed 1764Springhouse and 1750Smithy, as well as ruins of the original 1749Pottery, 1752Butchery, 1765Oil Mill, and 1771 Dye House. This location was chosen to take advantage of a spring that supplied potable water and the power supplied by the Monocacy Creek's flow for the craftsmen and trades of early Bethlehem.
Taylor's Mill Historic District, a 26-acre (11 ha) historic district featuring the gristmill Taylor's Mill, is located along Taylor's Mill Road and Rockaway Road near Oldwick in Readington Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 11, 1992 for its significance in architecture, exploration/settlement, industry, and military. The district boundary was increased by 8 acres (3.2 ha) in 1997 to cross the Rockaway Creek and extend into Tewksbury Township.
Sheldon Grist Mill Site, is historical site in Sloughhouse, California in Sacramento County. The site is a California Historical Landmark No. 604 listed on June 2, 1949. The water powered gristmill, was used turn grain into flour, was on Rancho Omochumnes. The gristmill was built by Jared Dixon (Joaquin) Sheldon. Sheldon was grant then five square league of land on Rancho Omochumnes by the First Mexican Republic in 1843 by Mexican Governor Manuel Micheltorena as payment for carpenter work on the Monterey Custom House. Sheldon born on January 8, 1813, in Vermont and travelled to California 1832, working as a carpenter and millwright. Sheldon married Catherine Rhoads, the daughters of Thomas Rhoads in March 1847. Sheldon and his partner, William Daylor, also did some gold mining. Sheldon built a dam on Clark's Bar river on the his Sheldon Grant to irrigate the crops on his lands. The dam flood a California Gold Rush miners' claims. The angry miners' shot Sheldon on July 11, 1851. The conflict with Sheldon and the miners is called the Riot on the Cosumnes. In the conflict Sheldon was not the only one shot. Also Killed was James M. Johnson of Lancaster, Iowa and Edward Cody of Fox River, Illinois. Three were wounded: Calvin Dickerson of Berrien County, Michigan, Emanuel Bush of Des Moines County, Iowa and one unnamed miner. The Sheldon Grant was boarded on the south by the Cosumnes River and north by Deer Creek, 17 miles long between the rivers. The Sheldon Grist Mill was just west of the Sloughhouse Pioneer Cemetery, where Sheldon and his partner William Daylor and are buried. The site today is still mostly farmland.
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