Alan B. Crawford

This week, let’s drift over to the north end of the Town of Newburgh, right to the border with the Ulster County line on State Route 32. There’s an old road, with the name of Old Mill Street. I guess all of you know how its name came to be…there was an old mill there! Yup! You can’t make it up! There was actually an old mill just a little ways in from State Route 32. You can drive down, just past the Friends Meeting House, and come to a small bridge spanning the pond. If you stop in the middle of the bridge, and look due south, this is where the mill stood.

At the south end of the pond, some of the stone work from the foundation of the mill still exists. This is just across from the old Valleywell Manufacturing buildings which are now under renovations.

My grandmother used to take me fishing off this bridge back in the 1950’s. We had cousins who worked at Valleywell we sometimes visited and chatted with. The Friends Meeting House is now privately owned and is a residence. The adjacent cemetery which is next to this old Quaker Meeting house runs up to the shore of the pond. Some of these graves are from the 1700’s, and the overall condition of the cemetery is good.
In the photo, which I was very surprised with when a cousin sent it to me, shows the cemetery, and in the background you can see the mill. I don’t remember it standing when I was a child fishing and am not really sure when it was torn down. So, let’s take a look at its history and ownership.

From what can be found, a gentleman by the name of Zopha Green built the grist mill. The subsequent ownership in the late 1800’s was by John B. Gerow. He was an outstanding figure in the Plattekill community, serving as Postmaster, Assessor, and Town Supervisor.

There are still members of the Gerow family in the area, and they can take pride in what their ancestor accomplished. I’m sure some of our readers will share other memories on their Facebook page which will be welcomed by all.

Thank you, Mr. Gerow for helping settle our community and making it grow! And giving us another town road name…Old Mill Street.