The Peirce Mill is a historic mill building located in

Rock Creek Park Rock Creek Park is a large urban park that bisects the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The park was created by an Act of Congress in 1890 and today is administered by the National Park Service. In addition to the park proper, the Rock Cr ...

, at Tilden Street and Beach Drive, Northwest, Washington, D.C.,

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History

Issac Peirce, a

millwright A millwright is a craftsperson or skilled tradesperson who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites. The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mecha ...

,NPS publication "Peirce Mill" GPO: 2004--304-337/00145 Reprint 2004 built the mill either in 1820 or 1829. Peirce rebuilt this mill according to

Oliver Evans Oliver Evans (September 13, 1755 – April 15, 1819) was an American inventor, engineer and businessman born in rural Delaware and later rooted commercially in Philadelphia. He was one of the first Americans building steam engines and an advoca ...

's ideas for milling, with much of the automated machinery on the upper floors. During the 1860s, as many as 12 wagonloads of wheat arrived for grinding. It was possible to grind 70 bushels per day per set of millstones. The last commercial load was ground in 1897, when the main shaft broke while Alcibiades P. White was grinding a load of rye. The building served as a public teahouse until the 1930s. The

United States Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

bought the mill as part of Rock Creek Park in 1892. Peirce Mill was restored as a

Public Works Administration The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Reco ...

project, completed in March 1936, at a cost of $26,614. Operation began on October 27, 1936, under the supervision of miller Robert A. Little. The mill was used from December 1, 1936 until 1958 to provide flour for government cafeterias, whereupon because of lack of trained millwrights and lack of water in the millrace, it was used only as a historical site. The mill was shut down in April, 1993. In 1997, a restoration effort was begun by the Friends of Peirce Mill (FOPM). The mill was restored with the support of the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

(ARRA). The mill officially reopened in October, 2011. The NPS typically runs mill operation demonstrations on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month, April through October. File:16-09-24 005 Rock Creek Park.jpg, Peirce Mill front exterior. File:Peirce Mill Water Wheel.jpg, The breast-shot wheel File:16-09-24 007 Rock Creek Park.jpg, Peirce Mill back exterior.

Facts

The mill has three pairs of millstones. The millstones are 4 1/2 feet across and weigh about 2,400 lbs, and rotate at about 125 rpm. About 60% of the power is used to turn the millstones, the rest for the remaining machinery. The Peirce family themselves were not

miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalent ...

s and did not operate the mill, but instead had other millers do so.

Pierce Mill vs. Peirce Mill

There was a "Pierce" (note spelling) mill on the Potomac River, not to be confused with Peirce mill. The other mill (Pierce Mill) is listed in the NPS records and was near Fletcher's Boathouse.

References

External links

Friends of Peirce Mill
{{authority control Flour mills in the United States Forest Hills (Washington, D.C.) Industrial buildings completed in 1820 Agricultural buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Grinding mills in Washington, D.C. Grinding mills on the National Register of Historic Places Rock Creek Park

History

Facts

Pierce Mill vs. Peirce Mill

See also

References

External links