Farmar Mill
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Farmar Mill (also known as Mather Mill) is a historic building located at the junction of Pennsylvania Route 309 and Pennsylvania Route 73 in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States.
The water-powered gristmill was built around the year 1690 by Edward Farmar. Farmar's father was a British army officer living in Ireland who had purchased a 5,000-acre parcel of land in Pennsylvania from William Penn. This tract contained most of what is present-day Whitemarsh Township. Farmar's father died before he could move his family to America, but his mother brought the family to American in 1685, settling in the area of present-day Fort Washington.
Farmar Mill was the original terminus for Skippack Pike, which was established in 1713. [1] By 1722, a road also existed from Farmar Mill, through the village of Three Tons, to Richard Saunders' ferry, on the Neshaminy Creek (later the village of Bridge Point, now Edison) in Bucks County. [2]
In 1740, Quaker businessman Samuel Morris bought a one-half interest in the mill, and bought the remaining half interest after Farmar's death in 1746. During the period of 1743 and 1748, Morris was building his country mansion "Whitemarsh Estate" (later known as Hope Lodge) a mere stone's throw from Farmar's Mill. [3] After Morris' death in 1770, his brother Joshua sold the mill and four acres of land to Isaac Mather, whose son Joseph built the present mill in 1820. [4]
Farmar Mill is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Today, Farmar Mill is part of a museum and historic site at Hope Lodge operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Due to concerns of structural integrity, the building is not open to the public.
[edit] References
- ^ History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Evert & Pecks (1884). Retrieved on September 30, 2006.
- ^ History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Evert & Pecks (1884). Retrieved on September 30, 2006.
- ^ Samuel Morris, 1747-1770. Retrieved on September 30, 2006.
- ^ Mather Mill (Farmar's Mill). Retrieved on September 30, 2006.
[edit] See also
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Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission |
|---|---|
| Museums and Archive |
Brandywine Battlefield | Bushy Run Battlefield | Cornwall Iron Furnace | Conrad Weiser Homestead | Daniel Boone Homestead | Drake Well Museum | Eckley Miners' Village | Erie Maritime Museum & U.S. Brig Niagara | Ephrata Cloister | Fort Pitt Museum | Graeme Park | Hope Lodge & Mather Mill | Joseph Priestley House | Landis Valley Museum | Old Economy Village | Pennsbury Manor | Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum | Pennsylvania Lumber Museum | Pennsylvania Military Museum | Pennsylvania State Archives & State Museum of Pennsylvania | Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania | Scranton Iron Furnaces | Somerset Historical Center | Washington Crossing Historic Park |
