Bowmansville Roller Mill

Built of brownstone around 1850 on the site of an earlier log mill, the three-and-a-half-story roller and grist mill stands beside a wood frame and stone saw mill of about 1860 at a crossroads in Brecknock Township, Lancaster County. The site was settled by the Good family in 1736, and Henry Von Nieda bought the log mill around 1846 before building the present mills. The mill operated as a feed and flour mill, and its saw mill supplied local farmers, until about 1945. Its second floor holds two sets of millstones and a roller mill installed about 1895, and the machinery on the second, third and fourth floors survives largely intact. The complex is regarded as the last surviving grist and saw mill combination in the township. The nearby Miller's House and Von Nieda Residence, both of stone, along with a bank barn, are cited as representative rural domestic and barn architecture. The mills have been idle since their operations ended, and their machinery is now being preserved.