Le Tort Mill
Lancaster Co. | Pennsylvania | USA
Watersource: Little Conestoga Creek .
Le Tort Mill
From the center of Millersville take W. Frederick Street/Letort Road west about 1.75 miles to the mill on the left at Latort Road and Little Conestoga Creek about 1500' east of the junction with Donerville Road.
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The 40'X 50' 3.5 story limestone and brick mill utilized as a flour, grist, and saw mill was built in 1871 by Levi (Bickhart) Brickhart. Flour production of 25 barrels/day was attained by the use of two turbines fed from a 6' dam through 1000' of headrace and 100'of tailrace. Levi continued to run the mill through the 1880's.
An earlier mill of 2 story stone of about the same dimensions occupied the site from 1820 to 1875. The stone base of this current mill may be part of the old mill foundations. Michael Bender built the first mill, later owned by J. Brenner, Lintner in the 1850's, and in the mid -late 1860's by J.S. Bear.
The marks can be seen of four of the five doors that have been masonryed in with brick.
Phototaken in the 1950's by Elizabeth Schreiner and used with permission of Robert G. Neuhauser. The photo depicts the front of the mill, which had five working, vertical doors below the sack hoist or catshead.
An old sectioned millstone laying along the pieced block sidewalk at the mill.
Backside of the mill, away from Letort Road, showing the fireescapes needed for the apartment complex. Later owners were Lizzie Herr in 1899 and Jacob W. Hess.
Vintage photo of grist mill and saw mill. The saw mill has since been removed. Photo used with permission of Robert G. Neuhauser for this Elizabeth Schreiner photo taken in the 1950's.
Same view as above, after the sawmill had been removed. The mill has been used as apartments since the early 1960's.GPS: 39' 59.54'N, 76' 22.75'W ele. 246'/75 meters Safe Harbor Quadrangle