Adams Mill

Adams Mill. . , Adams Mill, a flour mill built by Benjamin Stoddert between 1795 and 1799, was one of eight large mills along Rock Creek Park. Originally it was named Columbian Mill in honor of the newly created District of Columbia. The brick mill was 50 × 54 feet and four stories high. Its five pairs of millstones were powered by a breast-shot waterwheel 16 feet in diameter., Between 1800 and 1809, the mill changed hands several times before coming into the possession of George Johnson. Under Johnson's management the operation failed and was threatened with foreclosure in 1823. Johnson turned to his distant relative, John Quincy Adams, for help. Thus the mill became known as Adams Mill because of the association of the newly elected sixth President of the United States. The mill continued operating as part of Johnson's estate until 1867 when it was closed because of increasing competition from the larger, more profitable mid-western mills.