May Springs Up At The Grist Mill ...

 “The world’s favorite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May.”

  ~ Edwin Way Teale

   ~ 1899-1980

   ~ American naturalist, photographer & writer

  ~Teale’s works serve as primary source material documenting environmental conditions across North America from 1930 – 1980. He is perhaps best known for his series “The American Seasons,” four books documenting over 75,000 miles (121,000 km) of automobile travel across North America following the changing seasons. 

 

It’s a beautiful Saucon Valley spring as the evening sun dapples upon the historic Heller-Wagner Grist Mill, located just off the Saucon Rail Trail, Hellertown, Pennsylvania, in this HDR image I shot on the first day of May.

 

The Grist Mill dates back to the 18^th century and operated into the 1950s. The Borough of Hellertown took ownership in 1965, and nearly two decades later it was turned over to the Hellertown Historical Society. The Grist Mill is now an historical museum and a portion of it, the Tavern Room, may be rented for private functions.

 

The grounds include The Wash House, the smallest stone structure overlooking the mill chase and ponds. Built in the 1700s, it most likely served as housing for early millers and their families, along with a portion of the Grist Mill. It is now referred to as The Wash House, because after the construction of the Miller’s House in the 1800’s, it was utilized to wash sacks for the grain and possibly as the family’s wash house.

 

The Grist Mill grounds also include The Miller’s House, home of the offices of the Hellertown Historical Society; and the 1860 Walnut Street Pony Bridge and a barn across the street.

Illick's Mill Draped In Winter ...

“Places I love come back to me as music …”

      ~ Sara Teasdale

    ~ American lyric poet & Pulitzer Prize winner

      ~ 1884-1933

       ~ “The Collected Poems”

Illick’s Mill is draped in winter as a February evening beckons while the sunset wanes at Monocacy Park, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, three days after the region was blanketed with 27.3 inches of snow.

Illick’s Mill, also known as Peters’ Mill and Monocacy Milling Co., is an historic grist mill. It was built in 1856, and is a four level, vernacular stone mill building with a heavy timber frame interior. The original building measured approximately 34 by 40 feet. The building was expanded in the 1880s with a 20-foot addition and the addition of the fourth level and a monitor roof. The mill was formerly the home of the Fox Environmental Center.

The grist mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. As of October 2015, the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Mid-Atlantic Conservation Office has occupied a portion of the building, under a lease agreement with the City of Bethlehem. The building is maintained and its uses managed by the City of Bethlehem’s Parks, Recreation and Public Properties Department.