Powder Valley Mill Shelf Sitter

2001

Powder Valley Mill 

Powder Valley, Pennsylvania

This mill was originally built in 1886 by John C. Hancock Ice Company.  At that time, it was a grist mill processing grain for feed and flour.  The mill was later leased to A. Oberholtzer and then sold to Oswin Stahl.  Around 1912, the mill was destroyed by fire and rebuilt.  It was later sold to Elmer Stahl, who operated it until 1946, when a corporation known as Harleysville Milling Company assumed ownership.  In 1949, the milling company sold it to Wilbur Schultz who operated it until 1967 when he sold it.  It was then converted to a single-family dwelling.  This mill had the biggest overshot waterwheel in the Upper Perkiomen Valley.  It was 30 feet high by 3½ feet wide and was the last waterwheel in use in the Upper Perkiomen Valley.

Sixth in the Powder Valley series by Stahl’s Pottery Preservation Society, Inc.