All of these projects take time, effort, money and imagination. We invite your interest and help. Each of us has a part to play in saving a segment of our past and making it a part of our future.

Looking for a good home for some old stuff?

NEW PROJECTS 

Going Green! Hydropower at the Mill

DRMS is working to provide electricity at the Mills Complex with hydropower. Look for more information in upcoming months.

COMPLETED PROJECTS 

2010 Quarry Office Roof Replaced - Completed
Late summer storms made the installation of a new roof necessary for the original Quarry office building that serves as the Mill Society's office.

Rest Rooms Improved and Mill Spruced Up - Completed

DRMS installed a new pumping system for the Mill Complex rest rooms. Thanks to John B. Hoff of Stockton for the quick response, which allowed events to continue at the Mill uninterrupted. In addition, the rest rooms received a face lift in 2010. Inside there are new floors and sink supports, and other maintenance issues were addressed as well. Outside, the doors and trim got a new coat of paint. The Grist Mill also received a new coat of paint, one of the many ongoing maintenance projects at the Prallsville Mills.

Walk and Traditional Rope-Pull Bell Installed at Prall House - Completed
A new stone path was installed at the rear of the John Prall Jr. House, providing access for the office space on the second floor as well as security for the exhibits on the first floor. A traditional rope-pull bell was installed, keeping in the historic tradition of the building.

2010 Silo Roof Repairs - Completed
The area where the Mill and Silo roof meet got some much needed attention this year, and these necessary repairs to the Silo roof have been completed. Thanks to funds raised by the annual Progressive Dinner, the Mill Society was able to complete this roof maintenance project - thank you!

Stone Steps Installed - Completed

Several big rain storms in the 2009 had washed away and further eroded the approach to the bridge that connects the Visitors Center parking lot to the Sawmill. The gift of labor and materials was donated by Mill members Craig and Laura Scollo, owners of a local landscaping business, Country Acres Landscaping. The repair was done in a manner that is long lasting and suitably matches the stone of the existing historic buildings.

Saw Mill Grant - Completed
The Saw Mill rehabilitation, a New Jersey Historic Trust grant project, was completed in August 2009. DRMS marked the completion of the Sawmill project and had a Grand Opening on August 30, 2009, at the D&R Canal State Park, Prallsville Mills, Stockton, NJ. learn more! (from left) Ed Weinlein, Haverstick Borthwick Construction Company; Kurt Leisure, Holt, Morgan & Russell’s project Architect; Edie Sharp, Delaware River Mill Society Executive Director; Michael Hagerty, DRMS Trustee and Saw Mill Project Committee Chairperson; Dan Saunders, NJ Historic Preservation Office, Principal Historic Preservation specialist; Debbie Kelly, NJ Historic Trust Program Board member; Beverley Jones- Delaware River Mill Society Founding Trustee; Amy Cradic, NJ DEP Assistant Commissioner Natural and Historic Resources; and Ernest Hahn, D&R Canal Commission Executive Director

Iconic Sycamore Falls and is Removed - Completed

A sudden summer storm in 2009 caused a 60 ft. sycamore tree to fall, damaging a corner of the Grist Mill. The tree was featured in many photographs and paintings of the Mill as viewed from the river side. Thanks to support from the community, within 24 hours, help and clean up was provided by Northeast Tree Company and Joseph Altvater Inc. Roofing Company, eliminating concern and worry for scheduled events. The roof was repaired by CM Boyd Authentic Historical Design, LLC.

New Linseed Mill Roof - Completed
The replacement of the Linseed Mill roof is complete and was funded by proceeds from the 2008 Progressive Dinner.

Hand-forged Railings Installed - Completed
Blacksmith Ed Worthington, shown with his assistant Deforest Wormuth, created the railings that were installed to provide better access to the John Prall Jr. House.

New Walkway - Completed
The completed walkway from the Mill Complex providing access to the John Prall Jr. House.

The John Prall Jr. House - Completed
The John Prall Jr. House was preserved in 2005 and is now open for tours. Please check our Calendar of Events for scheduled open house dates of this magnificent manor House built in 1794, by the miller of Prallsville, John Prall Jr.

Stockton Visitor Center - Completed
The Stockton Visitor Center across from the John Prall Jr. House.

Gristmill Inlet and Outlet Cages - Completed (with help from NJ Department of Environmental Protection and the NJ Water Supply Authority )

June 30, 2006 the Prallsville Mills site was flooded along with the rest of the Delaware River region’s communities.

The historic inlet and outlet cages that once controlled the water-fueled historic mills were washed away by cut trees raging down the Wickecheoke Creek. 

The rebuilding of these structures is the most costly and important part of the 2006 flood recovery at the historic Prallsville Mills site.

The Mill Society is funding the rebuilding of these historic inlet and outlet cages, which involves rebuilding the gears and gate that controlled the water flow in the mill. To do this restoration a cofferdam has to be installed, a costly undertaking.

Delaware River Mill Society’s mission is to maintain, operate and continue to restore this Nationally Registered site. We are able to fund this project through the Mill Society’s Rainy day Fund. The foresight of this resource also requires that it be replenished.

You can be a part of preserving this amazing site. Help ensure that it will be here for future generations to learn and understand a time in our country’s economic growth, when the prevalent technology meant, if you had water, you had a source of power.  

• Are you willing to let our historic sites be lost with the next unforeseen challenge?

• Act now and make a donation to the Delaware River Mill Society’s Rainy Day Fund.

• Help save a segment of our past and keep it an active resource for our community today and for future generations.

DONATIONS AND MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
All donations are tax deductible.
Click HERE for a donation and membership form.

The grist mill’s foundation has been rebuilt and new structural posts and beams were installed. Original mill machinery is on display. Recently the upper floors were cleaned and lit. A kitchen, an office and lavatories were built in a former lumber shed in 1994. The old wagon shed was restored to serve as the Delaware and Raritan Canal Commission office. In 2001 The 1772 Foundation, Inc. in Elizabeth, New Jersey funded the restoration and renovation of the large 12 foot window and wall over the spillway in front of the Prallsville Grist Mill. The work was completed in 2002.

The Linseed Oil mill, thought to be the best preserved oil mill in the Mid-Atlantic region, had major structural repairs. It currently functions as an Art Gallery for local artists.

Grounds were landscaped and the power train was cleared of decades of debris and silt. Fifteen miles of an abandoned railroad line that runs from Lambertville to Frenchtown and passes through the Mill site have been converted into a popular recreations trail.

Delaware River Mill Society’s goals are more than architectural. The Mill has become a place of cultural and environmental events attracting wide spread participation. Concerts, art exhibitions, antique shows, holiday parties, school fund-raiser auctions, meetings, as well as private parties, are a source of income for restoration and maintenance of the site.

Prallsville Mills Complex

At one time the Delaware River region was dotted with mills of every size and variety. Our nation’s economic growth was strong because of the variety of industries these mills provided. It was a time when the prevalent technology meant, if you had water, you had a source of power. The very nature of this form of technology also carried its own risks; all those mills were located in flood plains. It is not surprising that few of these grand mills that helped build the economic strength of the area no longer exist.

Prallsville had continued to thrive and survive floods, fires and other natural challenges over the years because it had remained a profitable industrial site. The site’s location in relation to the changing means of transportation ensured its ability to prosper. We are fortunate to have a rare intact early industrial site, which tells the broad story of the interdependence of the development of transportation with commerce.

Today the Prallsville Mills is a resource for a wide variety of cultural, arts and community activities while also providing docent tours of the Mill Complex and the recently preserved miller’s house, the John Prall Jr. House. The Prallsville Mills site is a perfect example of how our historic sites can remain an active asset to the community today while preserving and explaining or country’s story of economic growth in relation our natural resources, transportation development and technology.

Please make a donation to the Mill Society and be a part of saving a segment of our past and making it a part of the today and the future.

Click HERE for a donation and membership form.

Read our 2010 Spring Newsletter!