Cedar Mills
Brush Creek Township, Adams County, Ohio
Marker Inscription
Named for early 19th-century mills along Cedar Run. The first, built in 1811, supplied a nearby iron furnace that closed in 1840. In 1844, Fisher and Stewart built a new grist mill, later converted to steam power in 1866 with a tall brick smokestack
The Story
In the hills of Adams County, Ohio, Cedar Run once powered a small industrial world. The first mill here rose in 1811 to serve a nearby iron furnace, part of the charcoal-iron trade that dotted the Appalachian foothills before the furnace went cold in 1840. Milling continued when Fisher and Stewart raised a new grist mill in 1844, and a generation later its owners traded the fickle water wheel for a steam engine, its tall brick smokestack marking the arrival of a new industrial age.
Why it matters
Cedar Mills traces the arc of early American industry in miniature — from water-powered frontier furnaces to the steam-driven mills that reshaped the countryside, a story repeated across thousands of rural communities that quietly built the nation's economy.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Manchester Historical Society15.0 mi away · 307 Pike Street, Manchester, OH
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Related people
- · Fisher
- · Stewart
Themes & tags
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