Lightfoot Mill (Mill at Anselma)
West Pikeland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Built c.1747 by Samuel Lightfoot, this mill provided feed and grain to the local community and exemplifies a turning point in American industrial technology. A rare surviving example of a colonial-era custom water-powered grist mill, its horizontal counter-shaft power system remains intact. The mill remained active until the 1930s. It is maintained by a preservation trust and is a National Historic Landmark.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Samuel Lightfoot built this water-powered grist mill around 1747 to grind feed and grain for his Chester County neighbors. It is a rare survivor of the colonial custom mill, with its horizontal counter-shaft power system still intact—a snapshot of early American industrial technology. The mill kept working into the 1930s and is now a National Historic Landmark cared for by a preservation trust.
Why it matters
Small country mills like this were the industrial engines of colonial America, and few survive with their original machinery to show how a young nation fed itself.
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Related people
- · Samuel Lightfoot
Themes & tags
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