Monday afternoon we went to the Newlin Grist Mill for some traipsin', explorin', and learnin'. It was built in 1704 and was in continuous commercial use until the 1940s. There are 160 acres total and it was a wonderful way to spend a balmy November day.
Looking at ducks:
Checking out the authentic Blacksmith shop (there is nothing 'disneyfied' about this place. It's not at all cheesy, just fascinating. And we were the only ones there, which helped a lot). This Blacksmith was not doing contrived 'demonstrations'- she was just making tools and we were allowed to watch.
And now, The Mill! The building is original, 1704 but being wood that sits in water- the wheel has to be rebuilt frequently. We think this one is from about 1950 or so. It's hard to get a sense of the size from the pictures- but the water takes an 18 foot drop off of the wheel. It was cold and damp inside the building, but completely gorgeous. Our guide says to us, "I'll go upstairs and then I'll be right back".
Next door to the mill is the house built in the 1750s that the Miller and his family lived in, with approximately 10 kids. Two bedrooms upstairs and two rooms downstairs. It's full of period antiques and reproductions.
"Yay! I'm gonna eat this!" Me: "No."
On the backside of the mill. Notice Oly is sitting on a grindstone. They were everywhere. Once they weren't able to be used anymore they were scattered throughout the property to be used for steps to keep the cows off the lawn, etc.
After visiting the mill we took the guided driving tour of the Brandywine Battlefield while Oly slept in the backseat. It was really great but it's hard to take pictures while you're driving. There was also a lot of imagination involved and that doesn't come across well in photographs.
2 comments:
Great pictures! That look on Olympia's face when the wheel and water starts is genuine terror, good thing her Grandpa Mac is keeping her safe.
Grandpa Mac looks a lot like "Grandpa Pony" with that baby (?) in the saddle.
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