YorksPast

Last Monday I explored how Barshinger Creek got its name; i.e. from the name of a mill along this creek.  Simon A. Barshinger expanded and operated the mill known as Barshinger’s Mill from 1892 to 1920.  The location of Barshinger’s Mill site on an overall view of Barshinger Creek was shown last Monday on a 1908 Topographic Map.

No remnants of Barshinger’s Mill are readily visible today, then how did I mark up an Aerial Bird’s Eye View showing locations of the Mill, Dam and Mill Race?  I’ll show you in this post; plus will provide some bonus history about the site.

Related posts include:

• Barshinger’s Mill unique Tandem Waterwheels
• Barshingers of Barshinger’s Mill is October 28th talk at Red Lion
• York Pretzel Bakery makes Billions Annually
• O-SO-GUD Pretzels originated in York

 

Last Monday we learned that Michael Grim acquired a mill at the site in 1875.  Michael operated the mill until he reach the age of 63; at that time the mill property was sold to 29 year old Simon A. Barshinger in 1892.

Thus the 1876 Atlas of York County should show the mill that Michael Grim owned in 1876.  There are two things that one has to remember in looking up the mill site in the 1876 Atlas:

1. Last Monday we learned the mill was located on the south side of the creek; as indicated on the 1908 Map.  In this area, the creek is the boundary between York Township, on the north side of the creek, and North Hopewell Township, on the south side of the creek.  Therefore one has to look at the Atlas page with North Hopewell Township.
2. However, North Hopewell Township did not exist until 1885, therefore one has to actually look at the pages with the Hopewell Township Atlas.

Here is the appropriate northernmost section of page 34 of the 1876 York County Atlas:

I’ve added Blue identification markings to point out various feature on this Section of the 1876 Atlas of Hopewell Township, York County, PA;  the Mill is already marked on the original.  The location of the Mill Dam and the Mill Race is clearly shown in the 1876 Atlas.  In the early spring of 2010 I took 4 ground-level photos that essentially verified the location of the Mill Race hugging Arbor Drive at the curve.  The mound of ground covering the pushed-in mill foundation walls is shown in another photo.

Here is the bonus history about the site.  After Simon A. Barshinger moved the milling equipment to establish the Red Lion Milling Company in 1920 on Taylor Avenue in Red Lion, he sold the mill property, less all milling equipment, to John Y. Raver on April 1st 1920.  John Y. Raver is my Mother’s uncle.

My Mother, Esther (Barshinger) Smith, was born in 1922, so her memories of this area are all after the mill ceased-operation.  Just a little further up Arbor Drive was the property of her Grandfather John M. Raver.  The location of the property of her Great-Grandfather Manassas Raver [M. Raver] is noted on the 1876 Map.

Esther has memories of traveling on Arbor Drive into her teens to visit her grandfather and uncle.  Esther remembered Arbor Drive was a dirt road back then.  She did not recall the mill building specifically; it may or may not have existed when she was younger.  She was pretty certain it was not there by the 1930s.

The Dam at Strine Hill Road was possibly there when Esther was younger, however most of her memories are of swimming in a smaller pond along Barshinger Creek that was in the meadow directly north of the Barn; the Barn was on the creek side of Arbor Drive and was further west than the house, which was on the south side of Arbor Drive.

Esther remembers visiting a mill in Parkton, Maryland with some of her Raver cousins.  It stuck out in her mind that this was the mill that purchased from Simon Barshinger the waterwheel originally at Barshinger’s Mill.  This would have been the steel Fitz Waterwheel that was manufactured in Hanover, PA.

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