Mill River History

Mill River History. . , Even before Europeans settled its banks in the early 17th century, Mill River has been a conduit of commerce. 1688 A Hempstead town meeting gives Joseph Haviland the rights to build a mill on the river in what is now East Rockaway. , 1689 Haviland installs tide gates that still limit current-day Lynbrook and Rockville Centre’s access to the sea (See where the river narrows under the Long Island Railroad trestle on Ocean Avenue toward Atlantic Avenue). , 1710 Michael DeMott builds a dam creating Smith Pond in what is now Rockville Centre. , 1806 Mordecai “Rock” Smith acquires DeMott’s mill; by 1828, six grain and flour mills are operating about half a mile apart. , 1839 After a winter with huge snowfalls, ice breaks and flooding begins, with streets six miles upstream in Hempstead Village under up to six feet of water. It is said that “Rock” Smith saves his mill by emptying his pond, becoming a local hero. , 1965 Haviland’s mill in East Rockaway, operated by the Davison family for more than 100 years and subsequently owned by the family for 40 more, becomes a museum. , 1990 The museum is destroyed by arson, but East Rockaway citizens are determined to rebuild. It is moved and restored by Amish craftsmen and the museum reopens as the Old Grist Mill Museum three years later.