Pottstown Roller Mill
The Pottstown Roller Mill is an historic, American roller mill that is located near the Schuylkill River in Pottstown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
Pottstown Roller Mill | |
 Pottstown Roller Mill, March 2011 | |
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| Location | South and Hanover Sts., Pottstown, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°14′36″N 75°39′8″W |
| Area | 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) |
| Built | 1725, 1849, 1856 |
| NRHP reference No. | 74001797[1] |
| Added to NRHP | October 10, 1974 |
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.[1]
History and architectural features
The original mill building was built in 1725. It was constructed of fieldstone and was two stories tall, three bays wide, and two deep. It provided flour to George Washington's Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.[2][3]
The mill's structure was improved in 1849 and again in 1856 when two brick stories were added to the original fieldstone building. The five-bay brick addition doubled the size of the 1856 mill. It then became "the roller mill of Jesse Ives ... that provided shelter for escaping slaves" as part of the Underground Railroad.[4][5]
This property also includes a contributing dam and mill race.[6]
It faced extensive flooding due to Hurricane Agnes in 1972 but served the community continuously despite major damages. Although the mill no longer sold flour, "a post-Revolutionary War era water wheel turned by a race stream siphoned from the Manatawny still provide[d] most of the power to operate the mill."[7]
Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974,[1] the Pottstown Roller Mills, Inc. survives today at 625 Industrial Highway, less than a mile from the original historic building.[8][9]
References
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- "The Wheels of Pottstown's Oldest Industry Keep Turning with Water Power". Pottstown Mercury. 1 October 1966. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- Graham, Dan (3 March 2013). "First History: Pottstown was an important Colonial grain milling center". Pottstown Mercury. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- Snyder, Michael T (1 February 2009). "Escape to freedom: Pottstown area had many stops on the Underground Railroad". Pottstown Mercury. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- Switala, William J (2001). Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania. Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books. p. 155. ISBN 0-8117-1629-5.
- "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Note: This includes Janet C. Smith (July 1974). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Pottstown Roller Mill" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-05-16.
- "247-Year-Old Roller Mills Faces Difficult Comeback". Pottstown Mercury. 28 June 1972. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- "Pottstown Roller Mills moving to new Industrial Highway site". Pottstown Mercury. 14 September 1977. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- "Pottstown Roller Mills, Inc". pottstownrollermills.net. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
