Bringing three centuries of our industrial
heritage to life
Nestled along the Pickering Creek in Chester
Springs, Pennsylvania, the Mill at Anselma is an
extraordinary artifact of 250 years of Chester
County’s industrial heritage. Constructed in c.
1747 by Samuel Lightfoot, the Mill retains its
original Colonial-Era power train, as well as
multiple layers of industrial equipment ranging
from the late 1700s to the mid 1900s. The Mill
and the village of Anselma demonstrate how
eighteenth-century technology was adapted to
serve the prosperity of the Industrial
Revolution and the challenges of the Great
Depression.
Through the efforts of
The Mill at Anselma
Preservation and Educational Trust,
this nationally significant grist mill site is
being restored and returned to operation for the
enjoyment of families, schoolchildren, tourists
and scholars. Come share in our enthusiasm as we
bring alive the story of America's
technological past and the lives of the people
that shaped it.
|
Simply stated, I have never found an
example to equal this Mill. Whereas
there are several partial examples
extant, the Mill at Anselma is the only
one complete in all the necessary
machinery -- of the “Wooden Age” . . .
The Mill is of great importance because
it is the prime example of pre-Evans
technology, allowing the interested
observer to clearly understand the
extraordinary impact that Oliver Evans’s
inventions, through their addition to
the existing "state of the art”
machinery, had on milling technology.
Here is an opportunity to preserve the
most complete example of this milling
system known to exist.
- Stephen J. Kindig, Historical
Molinologist |
|
