The mill was built c. 1826 by Alexander & Deborah Wallace. Mr Wallace demised in 1861 and the mill ownership transferred to his two daughters, Mary A. & Eleanore D. Wallace.

The mill as it looks in winter.

The Wallace daughters ran the mill, even after Mary lost an arm in some of the machinery. They finally decided the mill work was more then they wanted to continue with, so they sold in 1895 to J. Nelson Cross.

The mill was placed on Pennsylvania's Inventory National Register of Historic Places on February 24, 1977, and on the National Register of Historic Places on June 10, 1977. The mill was given to York County by the owner Harry Cross in 1979. Since that time, restoration has been ongoing. The focus for the restoration is the 1950's era. This time was the pinnicle of Harry's milling career, when the mill ran 24 hour a day, seven days a week.

The mill is believed to have been constructed in 1826 by Alexander & Deborah Wallace on Rambo Run and operated fairly continuously until the 1980's. The mill has been in the Wallace family, then the Cross family, only changing hands four times with the one name change. The mill original wooden overshot wheel with wooden spokes and shaft was later replaced by a Fitz wheel manufactured in Hanover, Pennsylvania by one of the largest & most prestigous manufacturers of water wheels in the 19th century, the Fitz Water Wheel Co.

The dam is washed out by hurricane Agnes in 1972, then again in 1976 by hurricane Eloise. The year 1977 saw the mill being added to the National Register of Historic Places and being donated to York County in 1979; although Harry continued to operate the mill until 1985, even though an accident resulted in Harry losing a finger in 1984.

The miller's house on the hill overlooking the front of the mill on Rambo Run. *Some history courtesy of Glenn Koppel July 1, 2005*

Milling ceased and the mill was closed in 1985 as Harry retired to a rest/nursing home. Ten years later, restoration work began on the mill and the mill opened in 1999 as a working mill museum.

Late afternoon sunlight put the mill & bridge in a warm light.

An office was added in the first years of the new century; then, Son Harry replaced the old wooden waterwheel with a metal Fitz wheel in 1922. A steam engine & and a gas engine were installed to provide supplemental power in 1927 & 1935 resectively.

An interpretive sign at Wallace-Cross Mill.GPS: 39' 47.96'N, 76' 32.43'W ele. 676'/6 meters Stewartstown Quadrangle

The mill's first floor as well as the office are open to the public, with exhibits and demonstrations that are of interest to all age and gender groups. *Update: As of 2006 the second and third floors are open to the public with interpretive displays. Judy Grove, Chairperson of the Friends Group 08/06/2010* Grinding demonstrations of the milling process are accomplished with a Lieberknect mill. A single millstone grinds grain and is used for millstone sharpening demonstrations. A hand-cranked corn sheller removes corn kernals from the cob. The original Fitz wheel was restored and re-installed through the good will of Harvey Bradley. The whole mill, especially the office, gives the impression that Harry Cross had just stepped out for a minute on mill business. The principal function and business of the mill was milling grain into flour and feed, but it was frequently used for farmers meetings and as a gathering place for the community to learn of area news, as is evidenced by the stove, miller's desk, work bench and chairs.