Gunpowder Falls State Park Visitor Center - Jerusalem, MD
Posted by: 
bluesnote
N 39° 27.729 W 076° 23.448
18S E 380352 N 4368987
The main building in the historic district which houses a museum and park offices.
Waymark Code: WM149B6
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 05/23/2021
Views: 3
Taken from the NRHP nomination form, "Erected by the Quaker miller David Lee (1740-1816) this exceptional building is probably the oldest extant mill in northeastern Maryland, and has been called both "elegant" and "one of the most impressive of all 18th century mills still standing in Maryland" . Measuring 36' x 60', "the four storied building serves as a visual "anchor~ for the surrounding area.
The ground floor and the partially enclosed basement to the rear are composed of local fieldstone laid in rubble bond, measuring two to three feet in thickness. The steeply sloping gable roof is pierced by two ranges of dormer windows, one of the mill's most unique and visually pleasing features. Although much of the interior framing and woodwork has been altered in the 19th century, many original architectural features still exist, such as the two foot square white oak post located at the corners of each floor of the building. Similar chamfered posts are also placed in intermediate positions in the floor and serve to shoulder large oak beams that span the ceiling and support each upper floor. The corner posts, mortised, tenoned and pegged with large treenails, are for the most part structurally sound.
Later 19th century mill equipment, notably the two sets of grinding stones, as well as large storage bins and canvas conveyor belts, are also of interest and importance. Unfortunately, the large sixteen foot diameter water wheel of the overshot type is no longer in place" .
When the water wheel system was replaced in the 19th century, two turbines were installed in a penstock, fed by a wooden flume and completely boxed in. The penstock is now awash in water, but the output shafts of the two turbines still rise up from the rusted housings."
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