{"nrhp_refnum":"77001174","name":"Helfrich's Springs Grist Mill","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"W of Fullerton on Mickley Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fullerton","county":"Lehigh County","state":"PA","lat":40.62532467400007,"lon":-75.49112377799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-10-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Helfrich's Springs Grist Mill is a two and one-half story gable-roofed stone grist mill on the banks of Jordan Creek in Fullerton, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The mill dates to 1807, when Peter Grim erected the present stone building.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the mill is significant as a typical example of the rapidly disappearing Lehigh County grist mill, with largely intact original masonry, framing, windows and flooring. It also notes that the mill operated directly from a constant flow of spring water without a dam or supply basin, which the nomination describes as unusual in the county.","narrative":"Built in 1807 of local fieldstone on the banks of Jordan Creek, Helfrich's Springs Grist Mill is a two and one-half story gable-roofed building measuring about thirty by fifty-eight feet. A datestone at the corner records the year of construction. The mill replaced an earlier log grist mill built in 1753 by George Hoffman, and Peter Grim erected the present stone structure. Thomas Helfrich bought the mill in 1890 and gave it its name. Its water supply is diverted from the main creek and flows through an original flume beneath a stone arched opening, a feature the nomination describes as unusual in Lehigh County, where mills were usually powered by dammed supply basins. The interior retains heavy oak and chestnut mortise-and-tenon framing, original lime stucco on most stone walls, and wide wooden plank floors. The mill's six-over-six sash windows, arched inlet and surviving framing are regarded as representative of a vanishing regional building type.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"The waterway is still active and flows through the original flume; the original water wheel is no longer present and the mill machinery has been removed. The document says a twentieth-century addition and interior partitions will be removed with the restoration of the mill.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.966529-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/77001174.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001174/7bd2a9d0f4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001174/7bd2a9d0f4-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Helfrich_Springs_Gristmill_Lehigh_Co_PA.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Helfrich_Springs_Gristmill_Lehigh_Co_PA.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995633","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helfrich%27s_Springs_Grist_Mill","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5704305"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/lehigh-county/helfrichs-springs-grist-mill-77001174/"}