Kinder's Mill
Why it's listed
Kinder's Mill is a three-and-a-half-story grist mill built of fieldstone laid in random courses, set on gently sloping ground at a crossroads in Deemston, Washington County. Family records place its construction before 1800, and the land was claimed by George Kinder, a Dutch immigrant from Berks County, in 1782. Its stone walls, timber-framed interior with wooden pegs, and remnants of the waterwheel axle location and mill race survive from its working years. The mill is regarded as rare because few grist mills of its type remain in southwestern Pennsylvania, and none of the surviving examples identified in local surveys are built of stone. The building also has connections to the Whiskey Rebellion through the Kinder family and to a later distillery operation. After the mill ceased grinding, it was used as a dairy barn, and it has been vacant for about fifteen years.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the mill is a rare survivor of a once-common industrial building type in southwestern Pennsylvania, and that its all-stone construction is unusual, with no other stone grist mill found standing in the region. It is linked to the Kinder family's role in the Whiskey Rebellion and to later use as a distillery and dairy barn.
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 86002888, listed October 16, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | LR 62194 at Piper Rd., Deemston |
|---|---|
| County | Washington County |
| Listed | October 16, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86002888 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | C. 1782 |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The structure has been vacant for the past fifteen years. |
| Acreage | 0.1 |
| Coordinates | 40.03102, -80.05491 (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.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 86002888.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6410547
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.