The Stover-Myers MillGrist for the Mill: Over 220 Years of History
The Stover-Myers Mill is an historic water-powered gristmill built in 1800 and continuously operated until 1955. It is located on the Tohickon Creek on Dark Hollow Road in Bedminster Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The mill currently resides in a 26-acre County Park that is open to the public. While the park is open, currently the Mill and its outbuildings are closed. In 2021 Hurricane Ida flooded the Mill and damaged the race wall beneath the buildings. The Interior has been remediated and now efforts are underway to raise the funds to restore the race wall.
Race Wall Deterioration has undermined the structure of the outbuildings
The History of the Stover-Myers Mill
Jacob Stover (1757-1844) was born in Skippack to Heinrich and Barbara Stauffer (renamed Stover) and spent his youth working on the farm. During the Revolution, when Jacob was still a teenager, he enrolled in the Bedminster Company 2nd battalion under General John Sullivan. He used the family wagon to transport army stores and wounded soldiers during the Revolutionary War.
1798 Tax Map of Tinicum Township, noting Jacob's property just off the map
In 1784, Jacob Stover purchased a 153 parcel lot of land along the Tohickon Creek in Pipersville on the border between Bedminster and Tinicum Townships. It had an existing grist and saw mill built by John and Henry Clymer.
Bedminster Township was formed in March of 1742 by 35 inhabitants of the area called "Deep Run." More than a half a century later, Stover's Mill was still noted on maps as a major landmark.
Detail of the 1817 Map of Bucks County, noting Stover's Mill in the corner of Bedminster Township
Jacob rebuilt the grist and sawmill in 1800. It used a millstone to grind flour and feed for livestock which was powered by a waterwheel.
Jacob also built a fieldstone house on the hill above the mill for his family. Together, he and his wife, Catherine had eight children: Henry S., Matthais, Anna, Jacob A., Catherine, Jonas, Samuel, and Isaac.
Detail of the 1831 Map of Bucks County, again noting Stover's Mill on the border between Bedminster and Tinicum Townships
In 1832 Jacob built a second house on the property, directly across from the mill for his son, Samuel and two years later he improved the mill again. In 1836, Jacob divided the property, selling the homestead and a section of land to his youngest son, Isaac, and the mill and the newer home plus 50 acres to his son, Samuel.
Samuel Stover (1804-1888) was born in Pipersville and attended the Doylestown Academy with his brothers. He married Anna Beidler (1808-1893) of Plumsteadville on 20 December, 1836, in East Vincent Church, East Vincent Township, Chester, Pennsylvania.
Detail of 1850s farm map of Bucks County, noting Stovers GM (grist mill)
In 1836 Samuel bought the house and the mill from his father for $8,000. He installed a turbine to replace the waterwheel and added an up-and-down-saw to mill lumber. He improved the Grist Mill again in 1862.
Samuel and Anna had two daughters: Susan who died in infancy and Eliza Beidler. Eliza attended the Excelsior Normal Institute in Carversville. She married Christian M. Myers of Plumsteadville in 1863.
Eliza Beidler and Christian M. Myers
Christian M. Myers, Samuel's son-in-law, assumed management of the mill in 1863. He came to the job with no milling experience, but eventually he became a fine millright who was able to dress his own millstones.
1875 Map of Bedminster, noting Sam Stover Mill
In 1885 Christian M. Myers installed a new and more efficient roller-process inside the mill, powered by a steam engine.
In 1888, when Samuel Stover died, the mill was left to his wife Anna Beidler Stover and their daughter Eliza Myers, but Christian Myers continued to manage the mill. In 1903, Christian improved the mill systems again by installing the Gyrator system of bolting.
Photo of the Mill circa 1885 before the steam engine addition Building was added
Christian Myers retired in 1904, and he leased the property to Norman L. Worman who took over the management of the daily operation of the mill.
1908 photo of the mill showing the steam engine building (left) as well as the saw mill (right).
Eliza Myers left the property to her three sons (S. Horace, Hugh E., and Ira S.). Horace Myers bought out his brothers. It was then rented first to Oscar Ott, then to Noah Trauger, and then to his son Claude Trauger. The sawmill stopped operation first and then the flour milling stopped producing flour in 1920.
The Stover Myers Mill circa 1910 showing the outbuildings along the road
In 1920 the Stover-Myers Mill began to grind animal feed, exclusively. In 1941, Horace Myers died. Roberta Stover Myers Fow inherited the mill and sold the property in 1942 to the Hagmeir family. The gristmill stopped operating in 1955.
A view of the Stover Myers Mill with the original Covered Bridge adjacent.
The Mill and the 26 acre site was purchased by the County in 1967. Restoration of the Mill occurred in 1970 and again in 1976, directed by David Driscoll with consultations by the head miller of Phillipsburg Manor, NY. In 1978 the Mill was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Stover-Myer's Mill Today
Up until 2020, the Mill was open to the public for tours, weekends 12-4 pm, May through October.
The Hurst Frame and interior workings of the mill were reconstructed with a Keystone Grant to allow the Mill works to function again, using a modern motor, and the site hosted monthly interactive demonstrations of grinding corn into flour.
In 2020, the site closed to the public as a result of County Covid Protocols. Just as the Parks and Recreation Department was ready to reopen the Mill to the public in 2021, the Mill was flooded and structurally undermined by torrential floods during Hurricane Ida.
Damage to the race wall after Hurricane Ida
Currently plans are underway for the Parks and Recreation Department of the County of Bucks to restore the Mill and its race wall and to reopen the Mill and its out buildings to the public
This presentation was created by Amy Hollander, Historic Properties Manager, Parks and Recreation Department, The County of Bucks
