Near Brick Church in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Cochran Mills Bridge
May 30, 2014
1. COCHRAN MILLS BRIDGE Marker
In 1800, not too far from here along Cherry Run, George Painter built the first gristmill in Burrell Township. By 1804 he had relocated the mill to this site on Crooked Creek and added a sawmill. The mills changed hands several times and by 1822 a fulling mill was added. The mills eventually came under the ownership of Michael Cochran (1858) and the settlement became known as Cochran Mills. It is the birthplace of Elizabeth Jane Cochran (1864-1922), a female journalist who wrote under the pen name Nellie Bly. An industrialist and charity worker, Bly is notable for feigning insanity to write an undercover expose on mental institutions. In the late 1930s the settlement was razed for the impoundment of Crooked Creek Dam, one of 16 dams which the US Army Corps of Engineers constructed to control flooding along the Allegheny River basin.Erected by Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Bridges & Viaducts
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Location. 40° 40.433′ N, 79° 27.517′ W. Marker is near Brick Church, Pennsylvania, in Armstrong County. Marker is on Garretts Run Rd. (Pennsylvania Route SR 2025) 2 miles south of Brick Church Rd. (Pennsylvania Route 2005), on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Ford City PA 16226, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. In Honor of Nellie Bly (approx. 0.3 miles away); In Memory of Lieutenant Michael Schall, Sr. (approx. 0.4 miles away); Blanket Hill (approx. 6.7 miles away); a different marker also named Blanket Hill (approx. 6.7 miles away); Vandergrift (approx. 7.4 miles away); a different marker also named Vandergrift (approx. 7.4 miles away); St Gertrude Roman Catholic Church (approx. 7.6 miles away); Pittsburgh Plate Glass Ford City Works (approx. 7.7 miles away).
Additional keywords. gristmill, sawmill, fulling mill
Photographed By Mike Wintermantel, November 30, 2014
2. Cochran Mills Bridge Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on June 1, 2014. This page has been viewed 749 times since then and 83 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on June 1, 2014. 2. submitted on November 30, 2014, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
