Wottring Mill / Wotring Grist Mill
Northampton Co. | Pennsylvania | USA
Watersource: Small trib. to Lehigh River
Wottring Mill / Wotring Grist Mill
On Old Philadelphia Rd.(Old U.S. 611/SRR 48008) go three miles south of Easton, Pa. and turn right onto Morvale Rd. for 1.5 miles, then left on Wottring Mill Road. The mill is on the corner of Morvale Rd. and Wottring Mill Rd. below road level.
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Native fieldstone mill, 35'x45' and 2.5 stories tall. Has been converted to a pvt. residence. Date of 18W W10 is painted on catshead. Wilhelm Wotring built the mill in 1810. Wotring is apparently the old world spelling of the Americanized Wottring name.
An internal fireplace on the wheel end was built on the second story/main floor of stones that fell from a wall that attached to the roadside south corner of the mill and ran east providing bracing for the roadbed. The penstock bringing water to the wheel ran under the roadbed from the millpond across the road.
The south end of the mill is where the steel waterwheel was positioned. The wheel was removed sometime around World War II.
A painting of the mill with the overshot waterwheel was done from an old picture by M. Eichner.
A wooden auger for a flour dresser hangs along a massive beam hand hewn with an adze, above the living room area of the residence.
A grinding stone set is located on the main floor of the residence. The nether stone is still encased in its wooden structure, while the upper stone that could turn, and through which wheat and/or corn was fed down the center hole, is exposed to view.
The mill property barn sits right on the corner of Morvale Road and Wottring Mill Road.
The miller's house is on the northeast side of Morvale Road almost at the junction with Wottring Mill Road. The mill pond was to the left behind the house.
A parting view of Wottring Mill. A view from Morvale Road heading north just past the barn and the junction to the left with Wottring Mill Rd.GPS: 40D 39.61'N, 75D 13.61'W ele 285'/87 meters Easton Quadrangle