Wild west: new frontier sawmill10/10/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() Local artisans recruited to demonstrate the arts and skills of earlier days. Antiquities and artifacts were collected for display. The land was donated for the project, and soon buildings were being moved onto it. The vision was to become Old Mill Village. A place where visitors could learn what life was like for those first brave settlers. Their vision was of a place where the crafts, artifacts and heritage of bygone days could be brought back to life. These people formed the Endless Mountains Historical Society, and through their efforts, a vast project was undertaken. A renewed spirit of pride in the town and it's heritage spread througout the community.Īfter the parades and ceremonies were over, many people wished to continue to encourage the spirit of historic pride. That year marked the centennial year since the incorporation of the Borough of New Milford in 1859. In 1959, the New Milford area prepared a vast celebration. While nothing remains of the other original buildings, the grounds of Old Mill Village are an authentic and appropriate setting for the mission of the museum to be fulfilled. The stone foundations and the ruins of Belknap's mill and dam are still to be seen. With increased traffic on the turnpike, other businesses, such as a blacksmith shop and wagon shop, were built nearby on the property. Belknap's mill was also on the Great Bend-Cohochton Turnpike, which connected this area with the Delaware River, and points east. ![]() One such sawmill was built by John Belknap, circa 1820's, on the stream that is now known as Mylert Creek, where Old Mill Village now stands. Soon sawmills were erected to provide building materials to the growing communities. Taverns quickly appeared, to provide hospitality to those passing through or planning to settle. As settlements grew, roads were cut, making the journey easier for new arrivals. As fertile farmland became harder to find in New England and other new states of the U.S.A., young families traveled west to find new lands to settle and farm.īeginning in the 1790's settlers from New England arrived in this area, hewing rough cabins in the unbroken forests and clearing fields to till. ![]() In the late 18th century, the Endless Mountains of northeast Pennsylvania were part of the rugged, unsettled frontier. ![]()
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