Oil Mill
1765
“Notice is hereby given to the Public, that the new oil Mill at Bethlehem for rubbing Hemp will be a going before Christmas. But the new Oil Mill will not be finished till the Latter end of Januario or in Febr. next year 1766...”
Oil Mill Diary
December 12, 1765
Linseed oil was an important 18th century product. It was used in paint, wood preservatives, printing ink, and medicines. Bethlehem's first oil mill was built in 1745. It was replaced in 1752 with a larger structure that burned down in 1763. Construction for a new oil mill began in 1765.
The new oil mill was a multifunctional industry which demonstrated the ingenuity of Bethlehem's early tradesmen. It housed machinery to process linseed oil, crush tanbark, grind groats, make snuff, full leather, and soften hemp. The machinery was powered by two undershot waterwheels turned by the Monocacy Creek.
After the 1790s, many of the original oil mill industries had stopped operation. After 1814, only flour and snuff were produced. In 1832, the oil mill became the water pumping house for the community. Steam power was added in 1874 and the building was demolished in the 1930s.
The oil mill was town down in the 1930s as part of a Works Progress Administration project during the Depression.
[Marker is damaged]
Courtesy hmdb.org
