Griesemer-Brown Mill Complex
Why it's listed
Built of red sandstone in 1843 on Monocacy Creek in Amity Township, the Griesemer-Brown mill is a stone gristmill of one and a half stories plus a basement, set with a miller's house and outbuildings on about four acres of farmland. Its milling history began with the Griesemer family, who are shown as owning the mill on maps of 1816, 1854 and 1862, and in 1850 it had two pairs of millstones and processed 8,000 bushels of corn and rye annually. George Brown started the milling business in 1871, and his family operated the mill into the twentieth century. The complex is valued for its association with the county gristmill industry and for the way the mill, house and farm buildings functioned together as a single working farm. The mill ceased operating in 1957. The property's interior still holds its millstones, a cornmeal roaster and a separator, which reflect its changing technology.
Significance in brief: The complex is significant for its association with the county gristmill industry, as a representative example of a mill operated as part of a family farm. The mill is regarded as a good representative of a country custom mill of the mid-nineteenth century, one of eleven surviving intact mills of its type in the county's survey. The mill, house and outbuildings have been associated with one another since construction.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 90001616, listed November 8, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Brown's Mill Rd. at Monocacy Cr., Amity Township, Birdsboro |
|---|---|
| County | Berks County |
| Listed | November 8, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90001616 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1830-1939 |
| Architectural style | Vernacular |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | At present the property is a working farm. |
| Acreage | 4 |
| Coordinates | 40.30256, -75.78244 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 90001616.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5608712
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.