Tuthilltown Gristmill
Encyclopedia
The Tuthilltown Gristmill is located off Albany Post Road (Ulster County
Route 9) in Gardiner, New York, United States. It was built in 1788, as the National Register reports, and has been expanded several times since.
Until recently it was the oldest continuously operated grist mill in the state. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1982. Around that time it began producing kosher flour
for use in baking matzoh. In 2007, its present owners began converting it into a restaurant
TuthillHouse at the Mill opening in August, 2010.
/NY 55
. The stream is to its east, with the neighboring area being a combination of woodlot
s and fields. There are a few other houses on the street.
There are several outbuildings on the property. Most are of more recent construction or, if historic, have been modified extensively and no longer retain their historic integrity. The National Register listing includes two contributing properties
besides the mill: its dam further up the Shawangunk and the 2500 feet (762 m) right-of-way around the mill race
between it and the main mill building.
The main building is a three-story frame
structure on a fieldstone
foundation
. Its gable
d roof has a clerestory
monitor. Asbestos
siding covers the original clapboard
. A shed-roofed one-story addition to the south houses the mill store. Inside most of the original finishes and layout remain. Four runs of millstone
s are on the first floor, powered by a Leffel turbine. A concrete headrace delivers water to the turbine pit.
built the mill on the Shawangunk Kill
, immediately above the confluence
with the Wallkill River
, in 1788 when he was 18. The settlement that sprung up around it was the Town of Gardiner's commercial hub until the construction of the Wallkill Valley Railroad spurred the development of the hamlet of Gardiner
.
Its original power source was an undershot wheel, later replaced by an overshot wheel. Between 1880 and 1910 much of its modern grinding technology, such as the vertical-shaft turbine drive system, was installed. In 1943 the addition was built, and another addition was incorporated into the mill building as its garage.
Ulster County, New York
Ulster County is a county located in the state of New York, USA. It sits in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 182,493. Recent population estimates completed by the United States Census Bureau for the 12-month period ending July 1 are at...
Route 9) in Gardiner, New York, United States. It was built in 1788, as the National Register reports, and has been expanded several times since.
Until recently it was the oldest continuously operated grist mill in the state. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1982. Around that time it began producing kosher flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
for use in baking matzoh. In 2007, its present owners began converting it into a restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
TuthillHouse at the Mill opening in August, 2010.
Property
The mill property is located at the end of Tuthilltown Road, which follows the west bank of the Shawangunk for a short distance from Albany Post Road just south of its intersection with US 44U.S. Route 44 in New York
U.S. Route 44 in the state of New York is a major east–west thoroughfare in the Hudson Valley region of the state. Its entire length is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation, with the exception of the Mid-Hudson Bridge, which is maintained by the New York State Bridge...
/NY 55
New York State Route 55
New York State Route 55 is a state highway in southern New York, running from the Pennsylvania state line at the Delaware River in Barryville to the Connecticut state line at Wingdale...
. The stream is to its east, with the neighboring area being a combination of woodlot
Woodlot
A woodlot is a term used in North America to refer to a segment of a woodland or forest capable of small-scale production of forest products such as wood fuel, sap for maple syrup, sawlogs, as well as recreational uses like bird watching, bushwalking, and wildflower appreciation...
s and fields. There are a few other houses on the street.
There are several outbuildings on the property. Most are of more recent construction or, if historic, have been modified extensively and no longer retain their historic integrity. The National Register listing includes two contributing properties
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
besides the mill: its dam further up the Shawangunk and the 2500 feet (762 m) right-of-way around the mill race
Mill race
A mill race, raceway or mill lade is the current or channel of a stream, especially one for conducting water to or from a water wheel or other device for utilizing its energy...
between it and the main mill building.
The main building is a three-story frame
Framing (construction)
Framing, in construction known as light-frame construction, is a building technique based around structural members, usually called studs, which provide a stable frame to which interior and exterior wall coverings are attached, and covered by a roof comprising horizontal ceiling joists and sloping...
structure on a fieldstone
Fieldstone
Fieldstone is a building construction material. Strictly speaking, it is stone collected from the surface of fields where it occurs naturally...
foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
. Its gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof has a clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
monitor. Asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
siding covers the original clapboard
Clapboard (architecture)
Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board , is a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below...
. A shed-roofed one-story addition to the south houses the mill store. Inside most of the original finishes and layout remain. Four runs of millstone
Millstone
Millstones or mill stones are used in windmills and watermills, including tide mills, for grinding wheat or other grains.The type of stone most suitable for making millstones is a siliceous rock called burrstone , an open-textured, porous but tough, fine-grained sandstone, or a silicified,...
s are on the first floor, powered by a Leffel turbine. A concrete headrace delivers water to the turbine pit.
History
Selah TuthillSelah Tuthill
Selah Tuthill was an American politician from New York.-Life:Tuthill attended public and private schools....
built the mill on the Shawangunk Kill
Shawangunk Kill
The Shawangunk Kill is a stream that flows northward through Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties, New York, in the United States. It is the largest tributary of the Wallkill River....
, immediately above the confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
with the Wallkill River
Wallkill River
The Wallkill River, a tributary of the Hudson, drains Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey, flowing from there generally northeasterly to Rondout Creek in New York, near Rosendale, with the combined flows reaching the Hudson at Kingston....
, in 1788 when he was 18. The settlement that sprung up around it was the Town of Gardiner's commercial hub until the construction of the Wallkill Valley Railroad spurred the development of the hamlet of Gardiner
Gardiner (CDP), New York
Gardiner is a hamlet in Ulster County, New York, USA. The population was 856 at the 2000 census.The community is near the center of the Town of Gardiner on routes 44 and 55.-Geography:...
.
Its original power source was an undershot wheel, later replaced by an overshot wheel. Between 1880 and 1910 much of its modern grinding technology, such as the vertical-shaft turbine drive system, was installed. In 1943 the addition was built, and another addition was incorporated into the mill building as its garage.
Present
Currently, the Tuthilltown Gristmill is being renovated into TuthillHouse at the Mill Restaurant while maintaining as much integrity of the original structure as possible.See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Ulster County, New York
- TuthillHouse at the Mill Restaurant