Historic Area here and nearby - Virgil, NY
Posted by: ripraff
N 42° 29.470 W 076° 14.201
18T E 398371 N 4705052
This sign is on route 392 west of town. "Peter Vanderlyn and Nathaniel Knapp erected the first grist mill, in 1805."
Waymark Code: WM10ZMY
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 07/18/2019
Views: 5
text: "Historic Area here and nearby First saw mill, tannery, cheese factory, grist mill between 1801-1965 Town of Virgil 1983"
History of Virgil (
visit link)
"The first permanent settlement was made by Joseph Chaplin, on lot 50. He erected a log house here in 1792, while engaged in layirig out the road from Oxford to Cayuga Lake, but did not move his family until 1794...Daniel Sheldon was the first merchant, and Daniel Edwards built the first saw mill. Peter Vanderlyn and Nathaniel Knapp erected the first grist mill, in 1805. This was an important work, for previous to its erection the settlers were compelled to go to Chenango Point or Ludlowville. It was not uncommon for them to carry a grist upon their backs more than twenty miles. The first cider was made by Enos Bouton, in 1819; it was worth four dollars a barrel. The apples were mashed by a pestle hung to a spring sweep, and the juice extracted by a simple lever press."