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. Help support the efforts of the Delaware River Mill Society by visiting the John Prall market in the Prall House

The Prallsville Saw Mill is being restored by a grant from the New Jersey Historic Trust.

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.