LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - JANUARY 26, 2020 by Lynne Belluscio I am working with the folks from DePaul who are designing an outdoor kiosk for the new housing units on Mill Street. On one side, the kiosk will document the history of the mills that harnessed the water power of the creek. The problem is to figure out what part of the history is important and there’s a lot of history. In 1801, only a couple of years after the first settlers came to this area, a bridge was built across the creek on what was known as the Great Niagara Road. At that time, the creek was called Allen’s Creek, after Ebenezer “Indian” Allen. He had settled on the Genesee River, at the mouth of what is now Oatka Creek - - near Scottsville. Allen’s Creek didn’t become Oatka Creek until the 1850s. As the creek coursed under the bridge, it fell in a rapids over the black shale. It was noted that the water looked like “buttermilk” and so it was called Buttermilk Falls. (What we know as Buttermilk Falls today, was called the “Great Falls” at that time.) The early settlers needed a grist mill, so a dam was built north of the bridge to create a mill pond that would provide a head of water. Ezra Platt and Richard Stoddard came up with the money to hire Solomon Bunnell from Grand Isle in Vermont, to build the mill. Huge beams were needed to withstand the vibrations of the machinery. It is assumed that the Platt and Stoddard Mill had only one run of stone, which was probably made of native limestone. According to one source, James Austin was hired to operate the mill. Richard Stoddard was the land agent for the Triangle Tract, and he certainly wanted to attract new settlers to the area to buy land. It was critical to have a grist mill to grind corn. Within a few years, when the trees could be cleared, the farmers could raise wheat that could be ground into flour. In 1822, Jacob LeRoy came to town and took over the mill and enlarged it. More than likely, he imported mill stones from France. These huge stones were shipped as ballast in ships, and were assembled on site. Behind LeRoy House is one of these French burr stones, although some of the pieces are missing. Since there is no record of where the stone came from, I have assumed that it is one of the stones from the LeRoy Mill. We hope to move the stone and the historic marker that was in front of the post office to Mill Street this next summer. In 1825, the Erie Canal opened from Buffalo to Albany, and Jacob LeRoy made sure that the road to Brockport was maintained because barrels of flour from themill were taken by wagon to his warehouse on the Canal in Brockport and shipped east. It was also noted that he accepted wheat for payment on land. Jacob and his family moved back to New York City in 1837, and the mill was turned over to Joshua Lathrop. By the 1850s, three railroad lines ran through town and enhanced industry and commerce. In 1851, Lathrop shipped a barrel of flour to Queen Victoria in England. The Lathrop mill was sold to Charles Prentice, who in the 1880s modernized the mill. He converted the stoneground mill to a roller mill, which utilized modern steel rollers developed in Europe. These rollers could grind hard winter wheat which was much higher in gluten and made better bread. The flour could be ground much faster and would not turn rancid. However, the old water wheel had to be replaced with modern efficient turbines. In 1884, three years after turbines were first used at Niagara Falls to generate electricity, Prentice was generating electricity at his mill in LeRoy. The LeRoy Roller Mill remained in operation through World War I. It was razed in 1923 and the beams were removed and taken to the stone quarry and used for shoring. The cornerstone from the 1822 mill was removed and placed in Ernest Woodward’s garden wall, now owned by Paul Boylan. History of Mill Street CUSTOMIZED T-SHIRTS • HATS • JACKETS • TOWELS EMBROIDERY MAKES GREAT GIFTS FOR YOUR FAMILY • FRIENDS • ETC. 1 Church St. | LeRoy, NY 14482 | 768-2201 | www.lpgraphics.net