Boyertown Area Historical Society under contract to purchase the historic Bahr’s Mill

Bahr’s Mill, located at 85 Sawmill Rd, Boyertown, is a stone mill built in 1897 to house Jacob Bahr’s woodworking and grist mill business. Only minutes outside of downtown Boyertown, the property was home to a linseed oil mill from 1828 until the 1890’s, and woodworking machinery was installed in the early 1870’s.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the mill has been completely restored. The original woodworking & corn grinding equipment, water wheel and some of the blacksmithing equipment remain intact.

- Advertisement -

The machinery, which includes a duplicating lathe, a polishing machine (belt sander) and a spoke-tenoning machine, has 1870 and 1871 patent dates. There are also two standard lathes, both over 10 feet long.

The mill was water-powered by the overshot wheel until severe flooding in 1938, when the dam washed out. Also, in 1945, the Bahr Family won a contract from the Boyertown Burial Casket Company for the sawmill (across the street), requiring more hours of operation than the millponds could provide. At that time, the woodworking business was largely ignored until Lawrence Bahr closed the sawmill in 1967.

The mission of the Boyertown Area Historical Society is to collect and preserve Boyertown’s historic items for future generations. Preserving the Bahr’s Mill property is vital to this mission.

- Advertisement -

To support the purchase and continued preservation of the Mill, go to the Society’s website to make a donation or plan to attend the upcoming fundraisers and events.

- Advertisement -
Berks Weekly
Berks Weekly
Berks Weekly is an independent and locally owned digital newspaper covering the City of Reading and Berks County. Subscribe today: berksweekly.com/subscribe
Reading
clear sky
41 ° F
43.4 °
38.1 °
60 %
2.9mph
0 %
Fri
52 °
Sat
51 °
Sun
57 °
Mon
50 °
Tue
45 °

Latest News

34,851FansLike
93,750FollowersFollow
2,008SubscribersSubscribe