Archive Record

Images

1 of 1977

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Metadata

Title

Cooper Mill Papers, Fonds

Scope & Content

Cooper Mill Papers, Parent Record.

The Mill Papers are a collection of business papers and commercial paper goods concerning general milling information and mill equipment information produced during the Cooper Mill's period of significance or surrounding the Park Commission's ownership and restoration of the buildings and surrounding property. The collection contains exemplars of advertisements and receipts as well as oral histories taken of staff and former residents of Milltown.

Object Name

Fonds

Catalog Number

CM2013.001

Collection

Cooper Gristmill Collection

Physical characteristics

2 boxes, 0.5 linear feet

Creator

Several

Other Creators

Various, see finding aid

Biographical History

Cooper Gristmill, located on 14 acres, was built in 1826 and is one of the remaining restored water-powered mills in New Jersey. It is listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places and is a living example of the state's transition from an agricultural to an industrial economy. Cooper Gristmill was once the heart of a thriving industrial community, Milltown, and played a vital role in the area's development during and after the American Industrial Revolution. The stretch of the Black River on which the Cooper Gristmill is situated is well-suited for the operation of water-powered mills. Throughout the 19th century, the gristmill ground primarily wheat, but also corn, and other grains. With four sets of millstones connected by elevators to grain cleaners and flour sifters, the mill ground up to 10 tons of grain each day. This mill remained in operation until the early 20th century. Modern turbines installed in the 1870s replaced the mill's two original wooden waterwheels. Today, the mill is run by an all-steel Fitz Company waterwheel.

The Morris County Park Commission acquired Cooper Gristmill in 1973, and opened it to the public in October 1978. During late 2005 to the early 2006, James Kricker of Rondout Woodworking conducted repairs, fabrication, and installation of historic mill machinery on the second and third floors of the Cooper Gristmill with the goal of restoration and installation of the historic machinery to show and interpret the complete mill process from grain receiving, to cleaning, grinding, sifting, and finally bagging. This main work included the installation of the main drive and the power-train equipment that powers the machinery.

Year Range from

1882

Year Range to

1988

System of arrangement

The Mill Papers are organized into 3 series:
General Milling Information, (CM2011.3.1)
Cooper Gristmill Information, (CM2011.3.2)
General History (CM2018.1).

Subjects

Milling machines
Mills
millstones
Equipment

Copyrights

Records may be copied for use in individual scholarly or personal research; however, as with all materials in the Morris County Park Commission, researchers are responsible for obtaining copyright permission to use material from the collection.

Level of description