History Unlocked – July 2017, Concord Mills
The Mills of Concord Township By: Karen Dingle Kendus, Concord Township Historical Society I love to bake. Cookies, cakes, torts, or trifles, I love it all. For my family’s July 4th celebration, I made raspberry brownies, from actual ingredients. The chocolate was melted in a bowl over a pan of boiling water. I mixed the sugar and eggs in, and then I added the flour. I poured it into the pan and baked them for 30 minutes. The entire baking experience took me a grand total of 45 minutes. In the 18th century, baking took much longer. Heating the oven alone took hours. Even before baking day can be set, the ingredients had to be processed and gathered. Flour had to be milled before being used in baked goods. And grist mills, which processed flour, were not the only type of mill in Concord Township. Saw mills turned forests into wood used in building houses and fences. Paper mills turned wood pulp into paper used for everything from currency to legal documents. Bark mills extracted tannin for use in tanning leather. Fulling mills cleaned wool for clothing. Cotton mills spooled cotton and stone mills processed stone. Milling was one of the first industries to come to the township, which was incorporated in 1683. By 1694, the first mill in the township, called Concord Mill, was in operation on Thornton Road, north of Route 1. Concord Mill appeared to be a small grist mill based on the tax rolls for 1694, showing only £10 in its assessment. By 1699, there was a road from Concord to Joseph Coeburn’s mill in Chester Township because Concord Mill could not handle the demand from Concord farmers. Nathaniel Newlin constructed a grist mill in 1704 on the West Branch of Chester Creek to handle the volume. Eventually, he added a dry goods store that specialized in cloth, sewing materials, and housewares. The second oldest mill in Concord Township, in operation by 1696, was a saw mill built by Nicholas Newlin north of Scott Rd, on Route 1. It later became a spoke mill, creating pieces of wagons. Around 1729, Thomas Wilcox built Ivy Mills paper mill, the second oldest paper mill in the United States. Ivy Mills started out manufacturing heavy pressboard paper. They manufactured a lighter paper for the printing of various colonial currencies. By the 1760s, demand for higher quality paper was used for newsprint and books. This led to a thriving business at the mill, and contracts with several printing houses, including Benjamin Franklin’s firm. During the Revolutionary War, the Ivy Mills created all paper for the Continental Currency. Today, Concord Township has one mill still functioning. The Newlin Grist mill operated commercially until 1941. In 1956, E. Mortimer and Elizabeth Newlin purchased the mill complex and immediately started to restore it. Mr. and Mrs. Newlin established the Nicholas Newlin Foundation in 1960, and it continues to support the mill today. They welcome visitors all year around and conduct demonstrations of the mill operation, where they grind the corn and sell the final product. Like many mills in Concord Township, the Newlin Grist mill was, and still is, operated by water power. A water wheel, connected to the two millstones inside the mill, is moved by the water current, from a millrace. A millrace is a diverted route of water, manmade, to create a stronger current from a mill pond. As the water moves the water wheel, the miller pours the grain into the millstones and produces the powder product from wheat, corn, and other grains. Concord Township was not alone in their building and running of mills. With the time needed to travel in 1700, it was useful to have any mill the residents needed close by. Concord Township is not lacking in creeks and waterways, and several families had the capital and desire to open mills, serving the residents and travelers in and around Concord Township. In the summer months, Newlin Grist mill has several programs for visitors. The property has a park attached, the mill and demonstrations, a museum, and opportunities for a picnic or fishing. I make an effort to visit anytime I need to appreciate my 45-minute baked goods! Check out their website here: http://www.newlingristmill.org/. References Case, Robert P. 1983. Prosperity and Progress: Concord Township Pennsylvania, 1683-1983. Chester, Pa.: John Spencer, Inc. pp. 92-110, 339. Newlin Grist Mill. 2017. Newlin Grist Mill: About Us; www.newlingristmill.org Accessed: 6/3/2017.
Ned Hector & the Battle of the Brandywine
Join the Concord Township Historical Society (CTHS) as we celebrate Black History Awareness Month 2023 by enjoying a presentation from Noah Lewis (aka Ned Hector). See the famous teamster and bombardier come to life as Mr. Lewis shares Ned’s story by using audience participation and laughter. In the Battle of the Brandywine, Ned disregarded his orders to abandon everything and retreat. He is remembered for replying to the orders, “The enemy shall not have my team; I will save my horses and myself!” WHEN: Sunday, February 26, 2023, 3:30 – 4:30 PM ET WHERE: Concord Township Municipal Building – 43 S. Thornton Road, Glen Mills, PA 19342 HOW MUCH: Free to CTHS Members & Residents–Donations welcomed. Light refreshmentswill be served. RSVP Encouraged – Email https://concordhist.org/contact/ with any questions and attendance. CTHS would like to express our gratitude to Concord Township for providing the meeting space and refreshments!
2022 Member Appreciation Event
On December 4, 2022, approximately 50 Concord Township Historical Society members enjoyed a lovely wine & cheese reception at the Willcox Mansion at Ivy Mills. Ivy Mills is a family owned and operated homestead in rural Pennsylvania. Dating back to 1744 and 1729 Ivy Mills was home to the second oldest paper mill built in America. Specifically paper used in the production of the colonial and continental currency. A mission chapel was established in 1730, making it the oldest Roman Catholic parish in Pennsylvania. The property was saved from demolition Anne and Mark Willcox have been restoring the property for over 20 years. The CTHS Board thanks Mark and Anne Willcox for hosting us at this wonderful mansion. Enjoy some photo’s of the event below and learn more of the history by going to: https://www.ivymills.com/history
Womens Right to Vote – Virginia DeNenno
Virginia Merion DeNenno Ginny developed a passion for our local history, and through the years collected books, photos and other artifacts with a vision of a museum where these could be shared with the public. Ginny was born January 18, 1933 as the fourth generation of Merions who farmed in Concord Township and went to the #5 one-room school on Kirk Road where her father had attended. She graduated from Media High School in 1951 as Concord had no high school at that time. She married her high school sweetheart in 1953 and she and Harold made their home on the dairy farm next to the one room school on Kirk Road. She developed an interest in our local history, becoming one of the founders of the Concord Township Historical Society in 1967. Through the years, Ginny amassed a vast collection of documents, photos, memorabilia, furnishings and other objects of local interest, which forms the basis of our museum on Smithbridge Road, named The Virginia Merion DeNenno History and Educational Center at the Pierce-Willits House in 2009 in her honor. This was the culmination of what she envisioned as she began to collect items that represented our historic legacy. She was a contributor to Prosperity and Progress: Concord Township Volume 1 the Colonial Legacy published in 1983, and co-author of Concord Township: Progress and Prosperity in the Nineteenth Century published in 1998. In the early 1980’s, she surveyed almost 200 historic properties in our township, which became the basis of our Historic Preservation Ordinance, enacted in 1997, which included her appointment to the Concord Township Historical Commission. She was a member of the Concord Township Planning Commission for 34 years, as well as a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), Delaware and Chester County Historical Societies, The Red Hats, Concord Seniors, Pony Club Mothers, and a Board member of the Newlin Grist Mill. She retired to Maryland in 2013 but her legacy lives on.