Delaware gazette and state journal., 1899-11-02
EARLY MILLS IN DELAWARE.
By Amos Isrinton.

lished the first Swedish settlement.
The Swedes landed in 1858, and
probably brought wheat and rye with
thom, and by arrangement with the
Indians, secured corn. By 1640, they
may have been ready to grind grain
and to have built mill designed
simply to grind tho whole wheat, all
being made into bread. Whatever the
exact date of the earliest mill, its
location was on branch OF Andral5
Kill or Mill Creek, known as Clapboard
Run, along Stedham's land
The second mill, according to ira
dition, dates back to 1860, and was
also on Andrais Kill. 1t was owned
by Gysbert Warayen and Broor Sem
nexon and was what is known as a
tub mill. Ii is very likely the meal
was not sifted or bolted
Some GO years ago, was told by
very old gentleman, named Zachariah
Derriokson, that when he was boy,
he had been told by his grandmother
where the mill was located and hcw
bread was made out of the coarse and
dark meal when she was girl; and
what fix she got into by trying to
sift scme of the meal through coarse
loNois Dub W tell tub piTCulusthuOeo
as she told him and he related to me !:
A few families were settled in the
neighborhood of what is now Richard
sons Mill, on Mill Creek. AT that
time there were no roads. and the early
settlers used the Indian paths. In the
absence Of bridges, travelling was not
done in rainy weather. One fall the
old people of one of the families
(Mr. DerIickson's great-grandpar entsl
thought of going up the river to
Marcus Hook to visit some of their
Swedish friends whom they had not
seen for some time. So on the morn
ing of the appointed day, the weather
being fine, they left on their journey.
They probably waded the Brandywine
at the ford at or above the old Barley
Mill and thence passed on to the She'll
pot and Shellpot hill and up country
until they reached their destination,
where of course they had joyful time
with their friends. Meanwhile the
young people left at home were bent
on haring sociable among themselves,
and one of the things decided upon
was to improve on the bread made
from the whole wheat, by sitting the
flour from the bran by means of q
crash or tow linen towel, and then
take it into a, fine grade of bread.
Inventive genius!) But the old folks
did not stay at Marcus Hook as long as
expected, for they feared unsettled
weather and rise in the Brandywine,
which they would have to cross. Their
arrival home was surprise, and the
young people had not yet made the
sifted flour into bread. When the
mother saw the meal, she wanted to
know what the separation of the bran
from the meal meant. Her daughter
then confessed, telling about the party
of boys and girls and the schemo to
have better bread. Her mother replied
that the old mode was good enough
and she mixed the bran and meal
together in the meal oass, and to later
generations was left the invention of
the sitter and bolting cloth to separate
the coarse -four fiom the fine and the
bran.
To return to the mills: In 1854,
Arnoldus La Grange, became partner
with Waliayen and Sennexon in the
tub mill. Walrayen furnished to the
partnership about IS acres of land on
the west side of Andrais Kill, the
main stream of which Clapboard of
Silver Brook Joined. The old mill was
ut the mouth of the stream. Under the
new partnership it was roplncod by a
new mill, built down along tho head of
tide water, where vessels of consider
able size could come. The is acres
were called the mill lands and the
name OF the stream was changed to
Little Falls, the creek showing fall
of about 50 feet along the mill lands.
Only Ia feet fall was used at first,
furnishing power for a grist or mer-
chant flour mill and saw mill. At
that time, or soon after, IL was tho
most important stream in Delaware or
the country.
This mill at Little Falls contributed
no little Fart to the building of Phila.
delrhia. William fenn had become
the proprietor of Pennsylvania in 1851
and had sent his cousin, Deputy
Governor William Markham, win a
colony of surveyors and mechapa& 10
select site for his town, lay ~ out
and begin to build. Markham brought
some material for tho finer part of tho
house for Penn's daughter, Letitia.
When Philadelphia was being estab-
lished, boards, planks and scantling
were secured from this old mill, the
material being taken TO the new town
by tide water in the absence of roads.
William Penn himself did not come
with his colony in the ship Welcome
until the following year, the ship
arriving off New Castle October 9th,
1852, He landed the next day and
took possession of the town and govern
ment. In his vessel was the machinery
of mill. A millwrieht, named
Townsend, was also on board, having
come over for the purpose OF erecting q
mill in or near Philadelphia. This mill
was built on Chester Creek.
A partners ship had been formed be-
fore leaving England and it was pro-
posed to erect more than one mill in
the province of Pennsylvania. William
Penn was to have five shares and bear
profits and loss: Philip Ford, John
Bellar, and Daniel Worley, each five
shares; Richard Townsend, four /:
Daniel Quase, John Barker and John
Buckley, each two shares; Thomas
Burberry and Caleb Pusey, each one
share. Caleb Pusey was to be the
agent and manager of tho Joint con-
cern. Soon after their arrival, site
was selected, lands on both sides of
Chester Creek, about two miles from
the Delaware, being purchased. BY
1858, the mill and the miller's one
story house were built. 1t was always
known as Pusey's Mill.
1t was the task of the mills in the
Territories, as the three lower counties
were called, to grind grain and saw
logs for the use of Philadelphia in
colonial times, and for many years
afterward, until, in fact, the time of
the canals and railroads.
ITO be contlnuod.l
The Jury Would Have Been Asleep.
ITS a great pity" said the con-