{"nrhp_refnum":"90001630","name":"Snyder Mill","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Oley Line Rd. at Monocacy Cr., Exeter Township","address_restricted":false,"city":"Limekiln","county":"Berks County","state":"PA","lat":40.33689247500007,"lon":-75.80466538299999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-11-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Engineering","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Snyder Mill is a banked one-and-a-half-story stone gristmill near the village of Limekiln in rural Exeter Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, beside Monocacy Creek. It is dated to circa 1780 and has a frame addition on its south wall.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the mill is significant for its association with the county gristmilling industry and as a representative example of eighteenth-century custom milling. It retains a wooden water wheel, an early hurst frame, millstones and other machinery in place, which it regards as one of the most complete milling technology examples in the county. The building's features are also described as unique among county mills for their 18th-century Germanic character.","narrative":"Beside Monocacy Creek near Limekiln in Exeter Township stands a banked stone gristmill of about 1780, measuring 26 by 50 feet, with a frame addition on its south wall. The Snyder family owned the mill for more than a century, beginning with Peter Snyder, who is recorded as a miller on the 1780 tax list. William H. Snyder, the last family owner, operated it until the mill was sold to S.H. Senseing, who owned it when milling stopped around 1930. The interior preserves two pairs of millstones, a chamfered summer beam, a wooden water wheel built by a millwright and an unusual early hurst frame that once supported three pairs of stones. The mill served local farmers by grinding flour for their families and feed for their livestock. Its surviving equipment and early framing are regarded as among the best examples of 18th-century milling technology in Berks County, though the west wall has cracked and part of the water wheel housing has collapsed.","period_of_significance":"C 1780 to 1930","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Vernacular","criteria":["A","C","D"],"status_note":"The mill is in unsafe condition and ceased operating in the 1930s; the owner has plans to repair and stabilize the building.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:36.086841-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/90001630.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001630/886328436c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001630/886328436c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Hshuvaeva","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Snyder_Mill_01.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Hshuvaeva</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:Snyder_Mill_01.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"83002218","name":"Oley Township Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/oley-township-historic-district-83002218/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71992336","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snyder_Mill","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7548900"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/berks-county/snyder-mill-90001630/"}