Stony Brook Grist Mill

Stony Brook Grist Mill
Stony Brook Grist Mill is located in New York
Stony Brook Grist Mill
Stony Brook Grist Mill is located in the United States
Stony Brook Grist Mill
LocationHarbor Road, West of Main Street
Stony Brook, New York
Coordinates40°54′53.7″N 73°8′51.52″W / 40.914917°N 73.1476444°W / 40.914917; -73.1476444
Area12 acres (4.9 ha)
NRHP reference No.90001140[1]
Added to NRHPAugust 3, 1990

The Stony Brook Grist Mill is a Registered Historic Place property in Stony Brook, Suffolk County, New York.[2] Its construction in 1699 created the Mill Pond astride the Brookhaven-Smithtown boundary.[3] The mill structure itself dates back to at least circa 1751.

History

The Stony Brook Grist Mill, Long Island's most fully operational mill, features on both the National and New York State Registers of Historic Places.

In the late 1800s, a vineyard flourished on the island within the Mill Pond's confines. Catawba grapes, harvested from this vineyard, underwent pressing and fermentation within the Stony Brook Grist Mill. The resulting wine was then bottled in Brooklyn and distributed through a nearby tavern.

Even into the 1950s, local farmers continued to rely on the mill's services, bringing their wheat and corn for grinding. Miller Schaefer specialized in milling natural wheat, producing "health food" that gained popularity nationwide, with shipments reaching customers in 42 states.[4]

Flooding from an August 2024 storm collapsed the roadway adjacent to the mill, emptying the mill pond into the harbor.[5] The mill was not damaged but required cleanup after being buried in sand.[6]

Conservatory

Today the Ward Melville Heritage Organization owns and operates the mill as a working mill museum.[7]

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ Suffolk County Listings on the National Register of Historic Places
  3. ^ Kathleen LaFrank (February 1990). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Caroline Church and Cemetery". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2010-02-20. See also: "Accompanying 17 photos".
  4. ^ The Stony Brook Grist Mill c. 1751 (Ward Melville Heritage Organization)
  5. ^ Asbury, John (August 24, 2024). "Historic Grist Mill survives devastating flooding in Stony Brook". Newsday. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  6. ^ Mullarkey, Maureen (September 20, 2024). "Stony Brook community pulls together to restore storm-damaged Mill Pond, Harbor Road". Newsday. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  7. ^ Stony Brook Grist Mill (Ward Melville Heritage Organization) Archived 2008-05-09 at the Wayback Machine

Media related to Stony Brook Grist Mill at Wikimedia Commons