{"nrhp_refnum":"74001816","name":"Hill's Sawmill","other_names":["Holbert &amp","Branning Mill","Duck Harbor Lumber &amp","Chemical Co."],"category":"building","location":{"address":"S of Equinunk off PA 191","address_restricted":false,"city":"Equinunk","county":"Wayne County","state":"PA","lat":41.75247949200008,"lon":-75.19302508599998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-11-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story water-powered sawmill at Equinunk in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, located on a floating pond with a stone dam and foundation. The building is roughly 70 by 25 feet with a gable tin roof.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the mill represents the former lumber industry of Wayne County, has remained largely intact for over a century, and is the only remaining water-powered sawmill in Wayne County and northeastern Pennsylvania. It also notes its ownership by Joel G. Hill, a state senator, and its use as a tourist attraction.","narrative":"Built in 1873 by William Holbert and John Branning on a floating pond at Equinunk, this two-story sawmill measures about 70 by 25 feet and has a stone dam and stone foundation. Logs were hauled from the pond into the building by a tow rope wound on a large wheel. In 1915 the original overshot wheel was replaced by a turbine, and the turbine is still in use. The main drive gears and pulleys are original wood, and one gear has replaceable wooden teeth designed to shear under excessive load. Joel G. Hill, a Pennsylvania state senator, owned the mill, which operated during the lumbering era when Duck Harbor was the chief lumber tract in eastern Wayne County. The mill is regarded as the only surviving water-powered sawmill of its type in the county and northeastern Pennsylvania, and it has been kept largely intact for more than a century.","period_of_significance":"19th Century","architect_builder":"William Holbert and John Branning (builders)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Operating; the turbine is still used and the original wooden drive gears remain; a tourist attraction.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.412926-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/74001816.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001816/284bde9dc4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001816/284bde9dc4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Vonsky87","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hill_Sawmill_PA.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Vonsky87</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hill_Sawmill_PA.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995489","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill%27s_Sawmill","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15224022"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/wayne-county/hills-sawmill-74001816/"}