Van Rensselaer Mill / Red Mill
Columbia Co. | New York | USA
Watersource: Claverack Creek.
Van Rensselaer Mill / Red Mill
From the junction of SR 23 and SR 23B in the village of Claverack, go east on SR 23 about 1-2 mileas The mill will be on the north side of the road before crossing the Claverack Creek. The community is called Red Mills.
This is the oldest gristmill complex in Columbia Co. The date of the first construction is uncertain. One report states that Michael Horton built the mill for Robert Van Rensselaer c. 1767.
A 1798 map of Hudson and Claverack does not show a mill at this location. Robert transferred a portion of his property to his son Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer. Jacob built a mill on his property in 1799.
An unusual piece of history. They generally only put white flour into wooden barrels. This shows that buckwheat flour was also such an important product of New York State.Antique Brass Stencil Roller Process Red Mills Buckwheat Flour Claverack NY. J.T. Lampman & Co., Claverack, N.Y 16" diameter: 19" Made by W.H. Joseph Stencils, 113 Nassau Street, New York.
So, the question is, did he build the original mill or did he rebuild the one built by Horton. A map of November, 1799 shows Van Rensselaer's Mill.
In Feb. of 1802, Van Rensselaer advertised his mill for sale or lease with two runs of stones. Erastus Stannard is reported to have operated the mill in 1818.
When Jacob Van Rensselaer developed financial problems in 1829, he lost much of his property and the Red Mill. In 1831, Andreis L. Miller and his brother-in-law Philip W. Pulver, purchased the mill property from the Bank of America. Deeds at this time mention a sawmill and a plaster mill, but not a gristmill.
Miller later leased the property to William J. Miller, at which time there was reported a flour mill and plaster mill.
The Lampman family owned the property for over 60 years, beginning in 1884. The waterwheels were replaced with turbines soon after the Lampman takeover. In 1938, after a disastrous hurricane John T. Lampman replaced an early wooden dam with the present one.
Under the Lampmans, the Red Mills gained wide recognition for its brands of pancake and buckwheat flour. In 1945 John T. Lampman sold the property to Armour C. Miller, who established a corporation known as Red Mills, Inc.
In 1952 Miller moved the flour operation to a new mill. Raymond Tuttle purchased the mill in 1953 and operated it under the name of Hudson Columbia Milling Co.
His poor health forced him to close it in 1961. It was the last operating gristmill in Columbia Co. GPS: 73' 42.42W, 42' 13.16N