Mills - Town of Chemung, NY
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The Town of Chemung has three creeks that flow down through the valleys to the Chemung River, providing plenty of water power for the mills that began to spring up in colonial times. Mills of all sorts began showing up on the creek banks and the pioneer settlers began to prosper. I will attempt to list the sawmills and property owners along with photographs as they become available. - Mary Ellen
A large portion of the land on both sides of the river for a considerable distance above Chemung village was already cleared of its timber by the Indians when the whites first located upon it. The hills and uplands, however, were thickly covered with pine. This, as in many other towns in the county, furnished ample work for the new comers until well into the middle of the century. The first mill of any description within the present limits of the town was a gristmill erected by Maj. William Wynkoop. Later on many grist and saw-mills were built at intervals of a mile or half a mile along Wynkoop Creek. First among these was a sawmill built by Alonzo 1. Wynkoop about half a mile from the village. Joseph Swain then built another one-half mile farther up the stream, and William Jackson built one about half a mile still farther up. About 1833 William Foulke built a grist-mill half a mile above Jackson's mill. The next one farther up was a sawmill built by a Mr. Wolcott, who sold the property later on to Cornelius Quick. Yet above this was a mill built about 1840 by Alonzo Fry. In 1828 or ' 29 Sands Warren, an uncle of James Warren, built a saw-mill. On this site now stands a steam saw-mill operated by R. B. Warren. About half a mile above this a mill was built by a Mr. Weller, commonly known as the " brush mill." It afterward fell into Warren's hands and he conducted. them both. In 1849 or possibly in 1850 Thomas Maxson built a saw-mill a few rods above the Warren mill, and still farther on, possibly a quarter of a mile, was a mill built by Hubbard Jackson, and yet farther another by Nelson Warren. The latter still runs a mill oil this site. It is a water-power mill. In 1835 Clark & Guthrie built a double mill, and still above that, ninety or one hundred rods, was a water mill built by Thomas Sweet. Above the Clark & Guthrie mill was a mill built by Zacariah Tarble and now owned and operated by Matthew Fincher. The first steam mill built in the town was that of Clark & Guthrie, built about 1835 half a mile east of the Tarble mill.
Warren Family Sawmill - Wynkoop Creek, Town of Chemung
Owens Sawmill at Owens Mills, Town of Chemung