Lightfoot Mill (Mill at Anselma)

Lightfoot Mill (Mill at Anselma) is a Pennsylvania historical marker in Chester County, dedicated 2007.

1730 Conestoga Rd. (Rt. 401) near Rt. 113, Chester Spgs. (NE of Downingtown)

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Built c.1747 by Samuel Lightfoot, this mill provided feed and grain to the local community and exemplifies a turning point in American industrial technology. A rare surviving example of a colonial-era custom water-powered grist mill, its horizontal counter-shaft power system remains intact. The mill remained active until the 1930s. It is maintained by a preservation trust and is a National Historic Landmark.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

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Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library

Historical maps covering this location

1740 · 43. Novi Belgii, in America Septentrionali. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1755 · North America from the French of Mr. D'Anville, improved with the back settlements of… (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1780 · A new and accurate map of the province of Pennsylvania in North America, from the best… (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1782 · Carte de la Pensylvanie et du Nouveau Jersey (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1792 · A Map Of The State Of Pennsylvania. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

North America from the French of Mr. D'Anville, improved with the back settlements of…, 1755, covering the location of Lightfoot Mill (Mill at Anselma), with a pin at the marker's coordinates — North America from the French of Mr. D'Anville, improved with the back settlements of…, 1755, covering this location. Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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Marker data: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission via data.pa.gov

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