Stone Grist Mill

Today the kids and I took a ride our to Lehighton. On the way home I stopped to take some pictures of the mill. I love going to this mill.

This stone grist mill was built in 1800 by Bernhard Fenner. It replaced an earlier mill built of logs by Jacob Brinker around 1750. From the Fenner family the mill passed to a relative by marriage, George Snyder; then to Romanous Snyder; and from him to William Snyder. It ceased active milling operations in 1954. The mill was next acquired by Eugene Haller, who sold it to Karl Hope. In 1974 Mr. Hope gave the mill to the Hamilton Township Board of Supervisors with the stipulation that it be used for only historical, cultural, or governmental purposes.

The mill was powered from McMichael Creek which is contained by a dam just to the side of the mill. There is an old railroad brdge that runs over the dam area and provides a great viewing point of the mill and the rushing water beneath. The mill was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in May 1976. In 1989, Hamilton Township received a sizeable contribution from the Robacker Estate for the restoration of the mill. The Hamilton Township Supervisors engaged Gus Roof, a millwright, who restored the millworks to a working 1700’s condition.

The field by the Mill

The house across the street.