The Emlenton Mill

The Emlenton Mill. . What you are seeing is the former site of the historic Emlenton Mill. However, the mill housed much more than grain during its storied and colorful history. It was built on this site in 1875 by James Bennett and Albert Cochran as the Emlenton Flouring Mill., During World War II, the mill was used for storage of both Quaker State motor oil and U.S. Army trailer parts manufactured by Butler County's Bantam Car Company. After the War, milling operations resumed and the mill was converted to electricity. Eugene "Twig" Terwilliger, the last miller, began employment at the mill around this time. After working there for two years, he and Robert Rumbaugh purchased the mill on December 12, 1952, renaming it Emco Mills. Terwilliger closed the mill in 1974, choosing to sell hardware out of the storefront attached to the mill on Main Street., "Twig" teamed with William Stump to renovate the mill in the 1980s. The building was insulated and heated to accommoate a co-operative with craft stores on the first floor, antiques on the second, and a deli corner business. They also conducted historical tours of the building., Paul and Nancy Newbury purchased the mill from Bill Stump in 2005, establishing the non-profit Old Emlenton Mill Foundation. They turned the mill into a museum with a scavenger hunt, as well as a climbing wall in the largest grain elevator. Unfortunately, on February 5, 2015, the entire mill burned in an extensive fire. The fire marked the end of the mill's 140-year history in the Allegheny Clarion Valley., [Photo captions, counterclockwise from bottom left, read] , . A view of the mill in 1895. The mill was originally steam-powered. Farmers could either sell their grain to the mill or take it there to be milled and returned to them as flour. Grain was also delivered to the mill by the Allegheny Valley Railroad, which ran between the mill and the Allegheny River shore on the paved path now behind the mill and on to Foxburg to the south. The mill had its own private railroad siding., . James Bennett (1827-1909) was born in Franklin, PA, and came to Emlenton in 1858 to hire out as a tinner with the Widel and Crawford Foundry. He stayed on to become one of Emlenton's most prosperous and respected citizens., . A diagram of the Mill, circa 2005., . A much cleaner and brighter mill in 2010. After the Newburys purchased the mill, they set about another renovation. In addition to the museum and climbing wall, the mill was home to a music venue, an ice cream shop, a hostel that could sleep up to 35 people, and an antique shop., . A photograph of the third floor in 2006, showing the grain cyclones, which separated the grain from the chaff, or the shell. The third floor grain elevator is part of a separate system including these cyclones and the third floor shaker., . A photo of the first-floor control room inside the mill, 2006. A dual grain elevator system ran from this control room to the fifth floor. From here, the miller could unload trains, weigh the grain, and control the flow of grain to the machinery., . A back view of the mill in 2006.