"Grist from Abbott's Mill"

Another post has been replaced in the basement. Same post after color has been added. Why are these posts being replaced? The next picture is the post that came out of this spot. Apparently the termites feasted on this oak post for quite a while! In front of the mill, next to the road, they are getting ready to replace the sill beam with concrete. About 24 inches of the siding has been temporarily removed to provide room for the concrete forms. Rebar is being added. These pi

Looking East at the front of the mill. This is Friday, Oct. 30th, on week four and the entire sill has now been removed. Lucky that the guard rail is there to help support the wall. Back in the day, the loading dock was at about that same level, but the roadway, which is on top of the dam, was several feet lower. See the next photo, the oldest we have of Abbott's Mill. Ainsworth Abbott's mill, circa 1920s, but that's just a guess. Now looking West at the same wall 130 (or m

Week four at Abbott's Mill, replacing the sill beam along the front of the mill Compare this with the photo below, from last week. The crew only has three or four feet to work in, between the mill and the guard rails. Part of the old sill beam that is being replaced. Judging by the growth rings, this Red Oak tree was at least 60 years old when it was sawn into this beam. If White Oak had been used, it might have lasted longer. Some of the same beam, farther down. The inside v

Compare this with the photo below, from last week. The crew only has three or four feet to work in, between the mill and the guard rails. Part of the old sill beam that is being replaced. Judging by the growth rings, this Red Oak tree was at least 60 years old when it was sawn into this beam. If White Oak had been used, it might have lasted longer. Some of the same beam, farther down. The inside view of the same area where the old beam was removed. A pegged mortise and tenon

The decking (sidewalk), between the mill and the road, is being removed today (Thursday Oct. 22nd) in preparation for replacing the over 20 foot long sill beam under the front wall. Temporary shoring in preparation for replacing the sill beam under the wall. The window looks out at the street and the pond. More temporary shoring in preparation for replacing the sill beam under the outside wall. This is just inside the front door, where the scales are. The corn sheller is ther

Bathon Builders got a lot done in the past week. As you look at the following pictures, they were all taken in the basement in the area under the flour roller mills (as opposed to the older corn mill where the two millstones are). All of the new structure is being painted a bright orange to distinguish the old from the new. This new work is intended to support the structure of the old mill, without actually replacing anything more than is necessary. This is the basement area

Several years ago, it was noticed that there was a lot of structural water and insect damage in the basement of Abbotts Mill, mostly in the first level floor joists and the sills at the top of the brick and stone basement walls. The Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs (HCA) has hired Bathon Builders, out of Elkton, MD, to do the repairs. Bathon Builders has recently completed an excellent restoration of the Aberdeen B&O Train Station, the only surviving stati

W hat is a honeybee doing here in my birdbath??!!, I asked myself in shocked disbelief one January morning. A short spell of “warmish”...

By Amy Shockley, guest writer Dedicated to Nora, (of Abbott’s Mill Nature Center) who didn’t laugh at me. I am about to ask you to...

As I said last week: On May 6th, 1919 Wm. Hendricks sold the mill to Ainsworth Abbott and Joseph J. Smith for $7,000. Mr. Hendricks...

I’ve been researching details about as many of the previous owners of Abbotts Mill as I can find information on: Back in the late 1700s,...

It appears that the first ever written mention of a water-powered mill may have been by the Roman architect and military engineer Marcus...