Race to the Mill

Race to the Mill. .
"In my humble opinion, the Aqueduct, or Race, which carries water over Susquehanna Street to the Mill...is a great nuisance. The water descends from it like a Shower bath...and no person..can pass under it without getting wet."
Letter to the Editor,
Carbon County Gazette, June 19, 1851

Race Street was named for the millrace that carried water which powered Mauch Chunk's first grist mill for making flour. Until the 1850s, the millrace ran under the streetto an elevated aqueduct over Susquehanna Street.

A rich sample of Victorian architecture is visible. To your left towers the 1869 Gothic Revival St. Mark's Episcopal Church. To its immediate right is the Italianate Times-News building. Not the Times House Inn, the local newspapers were published there from 1927-1967. Stone Row was constructed in 1848-49 with stone quarried from the mountain behind it. Near vertical terraces were created to provide "backyards" for residents.

As you turn to your right, the view reveals the 1861 Asa Packer Mansion, an Italianate-style villa, on the hilltop. Directly across the main street, Broadway, is the 1889 Dimmick Memorial Library. This is the final resting place for the grist mill's original millstone. Both St. Mark's Church and the Asa Packer Mansion are National Historic Landmarks.

(Caption, upper right:)

... Underground and aqueduct path of Race Street millrace, as drawn in 1863 (source: Nunan map)

(Caption, lower left:)

Asa Packer built the 16 houses on Stone Row, which was originally called Packer's Block. Over time, residents have added decorations and alterations to doors, windows, and roofs.