Jerusalem MillJerusalem Mill is located north of Baltimore on the banks of Little Gunpowder Falls in Harford County. In the 1700s the mill was the center of a thriving Quaker settlement. In 1769 Isaiah Linton and David Lee became partners and built the mill. Mr. Lee began milling flour under the “White Silk” label for Baltimore and surrounding areas. Soon barrels of flour were being shipped around the world from the port towns of Baltimore and Joppa.

Here is what the mill looks like today. It is no longer used to grind flour. Inside the mill, visitors can still see a room where the large water wheel turned the grinding stones.

The original mill was one of the largest mills in Maryland. It saw great changes in technology through its two centuries of operation.

The small two-story “Gun Factory” is located behind the mill building. During the Revolutionary War, Mr. Lee made gunstocks for the Maryland Militia.

Across the road from the mill is a restored building that served as a blacksmith shop. Every colonial town had a blacksmith. The historic village of Jerusalem also had a wheel-wright shop, a sawmill, a general store, and a post office.

In early October, Jerusalem Mills hosts an annual Colonial Craftmen fair. Volunteers dress in colonial clothing and demonstrate colonial crafts and trades (jobs). Visitors can experience what colonial life was like in the mid 1700s. This volunteer is demonstrating colonial dress for women.

This man is demonstrating life in the colonial backcountry in the mid 1700s. The colonial frontiersmen hunted and trapped animals for their fur and hides. Meals were cooked over an open fire. This type of campsite was easy to set up.

What items seen in this picture would have been important to a backcountry frontiersman?

In colonial days, fire was used for cooking and for warmth. This man is demonstrating how a fire could be made quickly by striking flint rock to get a spark. The spark was held next to dry grasses and twigs until it caught and made a bigger flame.

Colonial women and girls spun yarn from animal wool.

These women are displaying clothing and goods similar to those made and sold in colonial times.

Deer were very important to the colonial frontiersmen. These are deer skins or hides. After killing the animal, the skin was removed and dried.

The deer hide was stretched in the sunlight to keep it flat.

The frontiersmen scraped the hide to remove any meat. The fur could be removed or left on the skin to make a warmer pelt. The deer pelts were rolled and sent back east to be sold or shipped to England.

Maybe you can visit the Colonial Craftmen Fair at Jerusalem Mills next year!