On Saturday, 8-8-2009 I spent the day in search of mills, mostly grist mills, with existing water wheels. It’s good to have a theme when you go out and shoot and having a theme also drives your pre-visit research and makes things fun in general. I had four mills mapped out and would have had them all had Google not sent me 50 minutes in the wrong direction trying to locate “Peddlers Mill”. They showed that as being at 3823 Germantown Pike and it is actually located in Peddler’s Villiage. Oh well.
First up was Bromley Mill at Cuttalossa Farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. This mill is located on the Cuttalossa Creek in Solebury Township, Bucks County, not far from New Hope. It’s known as Bromley Lowe’s Hobby Mill, or Bromley’s Mill. It stands across the street from the Cuttalossa Inn. The name Cuttalossa comes from the name of an Indian village which existed in the area meaning “the place of the middle spring.” The original mill dates back to 1752 and was in use until 1929.
On the grounds of the mill, mini Baby Doll Sheep are raised alongside Chickens and Geese. You can purchase a handful of feed from a machine in front of the Inn and feed the animals. This place is a photographer’s dream and will be absolutely outstanding in the autumn with the changing leaves as a backdrop. There was a small, steady flow of tourists stopping by with their kids but with the many things to shoot there, it was not like you had to stop and wait to compose anything because nobody ever gets in your way. It’s very quiet except for the calls of the sheep and the soft flow of the water in the creek and through the wheel. This place could easily form the basis of entire day’s photography. Very highly recommened !
A look at the wheel, mill and Mill Keeper’s cabin.
A view including the pond. Geese and chickens often were seen around the pond while I were there.
This was my second of three mills I hit on Saturday. This one is located in Clinton, New Jersey. The mill was built on the banks of the Raritan River around 1810 and was originally built as a woolen mill. Over the next 100 years, the Mill was used at different times to process grains, plaster, talc and graphite. The Mill was also used to produce peach baskets, as well as to generate electricity and pump water for the town. Today, it houses an outstanding collection of more than 40,000 artifacts. Exhibited on both a permanent and rotating basis, the collection is especially strong in textiles (clothing, quilts, and linens), baskets, Victorian household accessories, woodworking tools, lighting artifacts, farm equipment, and other tools.
For more information on visiting the Red Mill Museum, visit their web site at www.theredmill.org.
This is Herr’s Mill in Paradise, Pennsylvania which is located in the heart of Lancaster County I had shot this mill back on 5-8-2009 but at the time I only had my super wide angle lens with me and the water wheel and the mill itself were way too small. I vowed to come back to this mill and shoot it with a more suitable lens choice and it was my third mill stop on Saturday.
The Mill was built by John Herr in 1760 and operated until 1924 when it ceased operations as a mill under the ownership of owner Lewis Snyder. It was also known as “Lefever’s Mill” for a period of time. The flour, grist, and saw mill was also at times used to grind corn meal and as a distillery. The mill’s two turbines, that produced about 25 barrels of flour daily in its heyday, were supplied by Pequea waters via a 1500′ head race from an 8′ dam. A 1200′ tail race completed the cycle. Today, it stands as part of the “Mill Bridge Village Campground”. The Herr’s Covered Bridge sits right next to the mill grounds.
