Pottstown Roller Mill

Pottstown Roller Mill is a historic roller mill located on the Schuylkill River at Pottstown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The original mill building was built in 1725. It was constructed of fieldstone, two stories tall, and three bays wide and two bays deep. The building was altered in 1849. In 1856, two brick stories were added to the original fieldstone mill. A five-bay, brick addition was subsequently added and doubled the size of the 1856 mill. The property includes the contributing dam and mill race.[2]

Pottstown Roller Mill
Pottstown Roller Mill, March 2011
LocationSouth and Hanover Sts., Pottstown, Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°14′36″N 75°39′8″W
Area1.5 acres (0.61 ha)
Built1725, 1849, 1856
NRHP reference No.74001797[1]
Added to NRHPOctober 10, 1974

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.[1]

The mill provided flour to George Washington's Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. [3][4]

It is "the roller mill of Jesse Ives ... that provided shelter for escaping slaves" in the Underground Railroad. [5][6]

The Mill faced extensive flooding due to Hurricane Agnes in 1972 but served the community continuously despite major damages. As of this time, the Mill no longer sold flour, but "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]

The Pottstown Roller Mills, Inc. survives today at 625 Industrial Highway, less than a mile from the original historic building. [8] [9]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "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.
  3. "The Wheels of Pottstown's Oldest Industry Keep Turning with Water Power". Pottstown Mercury. 1 October 1966. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  4. Graham, Dan (3 March 2013). "First History: Pottstown was an important Colonial grain milling center". Pottstown Mercury. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  5. Snyder, Michael T (1 February 2009). "Escape to freedom: Pottstown area had many stops on the Underground Railroad". Pottstown Mercury. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  6. Switala, William J (2001). Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania. Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books. p. 155. ISBN 0-8117-1629-5.
  7. "247-Year-Old Roller Mills Faces Difficult Comeback". Pottstown Mercury. 28 June 1972. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  8. "Pottstown Roller Mills moving to new Industrial Highway site". Pottstown Mercury. 14 September 1977. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  9. "Pottstown Roller Mills, Inc". pottstownrollermills.net. Retrieved 9 October 2017.


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