The mill was built in 1770 by Frederick Brand as a merchant mill, a mill used primarily for buying, grinding & selling such flour and cornmeal to large markets, probably Philadelphia. Twenty years later, Abraham Bobb, a brother to Daniel Bobb who owned the Latshaw/Saylor Mill at that time, bought the mill. They were the sons of Daniel Bobb, who owned the Bobb/Latshaw mill earlier.-info from Michael A. Miller.

Jacob Anthony, a miller from Weisenberg Township, Lehigh County and known as "Honest Jacob", bought the mill some time later in 1831 from the Steltz estate, after Mr. Bobb moved from the area.

The mill was built as a combination mill/miller's house, one of several in Berks Co, Lancaster Co, Lehigh Co. Soon after the mill was built, The miller found out that it was too noisy & dirty to live in the millhouse part, so they built a house across the street.

Edward L. & Ann (Dotterer) Anthony, Jacob's son & wife, operated the mill for close to 70 years, producing award-winning corn meal, the best in the county.

Edward became a miller under his father's tutelage at age 15, served in the Civil War, then came back to the mill hopper, so to speak, and fell in love with a maiden who brought wheat to the mill to grind. This maiden died as the oldest miller's wife in Pennsylvania during the first decade of the 1900's.

The property also, in the mills heyday, contained an oil mill, for extracting linseed oil from flax fibers, and a saw mill. The saw mill is long gone; but, the oil mill is still remaining on the property.

In the 1950's, the owners were delinquent in paying taxes, the property was taken and converted into a boy scout camp. The mill and miller's house were becoming derelict at this time and the mill portion was removed.

The old 12.5' water wheel was constructed of wood as was the axle/shaft. GPS: 75' 36.50W, 4' 24.07N

Although we'll never be able to put the millworks back into our house here in Barto, I am thinking of putting up a waterwheel fed from the millpond which is still here.. Matt Carrow June 2005. The mill house is a private residence, so please repect the owners privacy. Ask permission to see the grounds. Call for permission: 1-978-703-4702.