Scudders Mills - Plainsboro, NJ
Posted by: archway
N 40° 20.563 W 074° 37.785
18T E 531445 N 4465862
This historical marker near a D&R Canal trailhead describes a mill that was once located in the area.
Waymark Code: WM7QE7
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 11/22/2009
Views: 10
The plaque describing an area once called Scudders Mills is set in a stone block along a driveway leading to an unpaved parking lot next to the D&R Canal trail. The area is located on Mapleton Road, just off U.S. 1 where the Millstone River meets Carnegie Lake.
The community that once existed here, also called Aqueduct after the aqueduct that allowed the Millstone to flow under the canal, was a self-sustaining community with various types of mills and shops. That area is now underwater since the creation of Carnegie Lake in 1906.
The photo below is from around 1890.
Marker Name: Scudders Mills
Marker Type: Local? Unofficial
Marker text: A grist mill, saw mill and a fulling mill known as Scudders Mill was located on old Harrison Street 500' from this spot. The mill has been destroyed and Harrison Street relocated, intersecting U.S. Route 1.
Built by Josiah Davison between 1737, when he bought the land from his brother, Dr. Daniel Brinton Davison, and 1749, when he sold it to Jacob Scudder of Long Island for 1,400 pounds.
He bequeathed the thriving mill to his son, Colonel William Scudder of the American Army. In December 1776 the British, housed nearby, destroyed the mill during the American Revolution.
Benjamin Gray and his wife, Jane, bought it at public auction on February 28, 1885, rebuilt the mill known as Gray's mills.
As people became less dependent on the mill, it was left to deteriorate.
(This plaque erected by Plainsboro Township, with the assistance and cooperation of the Plainsboro Historical Society, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the D&R Canal Commission.)
Dedication Date: 07/01/1982
City: Plainsboro Township
County: Middlesex
Group responsible for placement: Plainsboro Township
Web Link: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions: A photo of the 'Marker' or 'Plaque' is required to identify the location, plus a picture of the 'Historic Site', please ALSO provide a detailed description of your visit so we can form a 'mental image'
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