History of a Mill- The Newlin Grist Mill

Welcome! This is the Newlin Grist Mill 

This mill is located at 219 Cheyney Rd. in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania 

There are a variety of reasons why I wanted to write about this mill. The main reason is that the mill was built, owned and operated by my 11th great-aunt and her husband- Mary Mildenhall Newlin (1670-1728) & Nathaniel Newlin (1665-1729).

Mary Mildenhall was born to Thomas Mildenhall III (1630-1682) and Joane Strode (1634-1682) in 1670 in England. When she immigrated with her 3 brothers around 1682, she met and married Nathaniel Newlin (1665-1729) on 17 Apr 1685. He immigrated from Tyrone County, Ireland and was the son of Nicholas Newlin (1630-1699) & Elizabeth Paggott (1625-1717).

Mary & Nathaniel had 7 children: 

1. Jimima Newlin (1685-1723)

2. Elizabeth Newlin (1687-1723)

3. Nicholas Newlin (1689-1768)

4. Nathaniel Newlin Jr. (1690-1732)

5. John Newlin (1691-1753)

6. Keziah Newlin (1696-1790)

7. Mary Newlin (1699-1775)

In 1704, Nathaniel and Mary opened the mill and it was commercially operated until 1941! 

History of the mill: (Ownership of the mill site)

~Sep 24, 1683-1685- Nicholas Newlin (1630-1699) Bought 500 acres from William Penn.

~Apr 17, 1685-1729- Nathaniel Newlin (1663-1729) Given 250 acres as a wedding present- Married Mary Mildenhall- Built mill in 1704.

~1729-1768- Nicholas Newlin (1689-1768) inherited land and mill from his father.

~1768-1811- Thomas Newlin (1747-1811) inherited land and mill from his father.

~1811-1817- Benjamin Newlin (1784-1873) inherited land and mill from his father. Sold land to pay for inheritance lawsuit. 

~Jul 31, 1817-1829- William Trimble (1766-1842) bought 26 acres, mill and 2 houses for $9,005.

~1829-1835- Abraham Sharpless (1748-1835) bought 26 acres, mill and 2 houses for $5,500.

~1835-1869- Casper Sharpless (1805-1865) inherited land and mill from his father. Mill unsold for 4 years after his death.

~Apr 21, 1869-1880- John H. Hill (1799-1880)- relative of the Newlins- bought mill and land for $25,500.

~1880-1929- Samuel Newlin Hill (1842-1929)- inherited land and mill from his father.

~1929-1942- William W. Hill 1863-1943)- inherited land and mill from his father- active mill operation ceased 1942.

~Oct 27, 1942-1956- Daniel I. Conlon- Intended to convert to a residence.

~Mar 02, 1956-1960- E. Mortimer Newlin (1898-1977)- 7th generation descendant of Nathaniel Newlin first purchase included mill, warehouse, Miller's house and 3.5 acre.

~Dec 02, 1960-Present- Nicholas Newlin Foundation Founded by E. Mortimer Newlin to preserve the mill.

(All ownership history retained from Triposo, and they got it from Nicholas Sellers, Short History of Newlin Grist Mill, page 22).

Now, the mill is for tourists and the community for historical purposes. It's currently not open due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I have yet to visit, but when I do, I will be so excited to see a piece of my ancestor's history! 

More pictures: (courtesy of the Newlin Grist Mill Website & Google)

You can visit the Newlin Grist Mill website here.