Muncy Woolen Mills

Located at 18 South Market Street

Built in 1882, Torn down in 2013

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Rogers Woolen Mill

(What happened to this building?)
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In 1817 Samuel and Jonathan bought property on Muncy Creek near the borough of Muncy in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania where the enterprising brothers built a frame building to house a new woolen factory. They also built a grist mill, plaster mill and sawmill all of which were operated in connection with the woolen mill.

In 1826 the woolen mill was destroyed by fire. After this disaster Samuel and Jonathan dissolved their business relations, and Samuel bought out Jonathan's interest. Jonathan returned to the Forks where he established another woolen factory that same year. He operated that factory until his death in 1830.

In an  advertisement in the May 6th 1829 Lycoming Gazette, Muncy Woolen Mills offered to manufacture Wollen Cloths for Farmers who would furnish wool "at the following rates" (see attached article for the rates)

Wool would be received and returned at the following places:

Michael Bartholomew's, Muncytown

Samuel Donnel's Jersey Shore

Henry Hughes, Williamsport

After the fire, Samuel immediately turned his attention to building an even larger, 3-story woolen factory on Muncy Creek, this time of brick. The Muncy Mills consisted of a corn, plaster and sawmill as well as the cloth factory. He was engaged in that operation from about 1827 until 1840. (Samuel then went to supervise operations at the White Deer Mill)

On the 1883 Fowler Map Of Muncy - Coulter Rogers & Co Muncy Woolen Mills

Coulter Rogers & Co 

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MUNCY WOOLEN MILLS

1883-1929

"Situated on market street near the basin, and the buildings are brick. "

In 1882, the firm known as Coulter, Rogers and Company purchased this land and erected a large three story 'L' shaped building here for the purpose of producing wool blankets. By 1890 the firm was doing business as Muncy Woolen Mill and turning out 50,000 blankets a year. - Historical Marker

Prior to opening the woolen mill in Muncy, the Rogers brothers had operated the woolen mill at Dunwoody.

On the 1883 Fowler Map.  #8 is the Woolen Mill.  

Muncy Woolen Mills advertised in several issues of American Wool and Cotton Reporter in 1899. The company described itself as "Manufacturers of White and Colored all Wool Bed" and "Blankets." In the August 31, 1899, issue, the company listed several items for sale, including a D&F Double Cylinder Twister; a D&F 90-inch up and down Gig; and a 50-spladle Lindsey & Hyde Yarn Reel with the latest patterns.

1892 Lewisburg Journal

1893  - Won awards at the Chicago Exposition for Blanket Quality

March 6 1902 - "Yesterday afternoon about 2:30 o'clock the roof of the dye house at the plant of the Muncy Woolen Mills company on Market street, collapsed, and two men, Samuel Rogers and Thomas Opp were injured, one quite badly." - Muncy Luminary

1921

"The Muncy Woolen Mills Company, manufacturers of blankets, and Sprout, Waldron & Co., manufacturers of flowering mill machinery, are so crowed [sic] with orders that they are running 13 hours a day." - Luminary, October 1902

1924

"The Muncy Woolen Mills, employing about fifty persons, has a reputation which is only bounded by the two coasts. Until very recently it had been in the hands of two members of the same families for more than seventy years. The company devotes itself entirely to the manufacture of all-wool blankets and its reputation for good workmanship and the high quality of its output extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific and even to Europe. It is in almost continuous operation." - History of Lycoming County By Lloyd, 1929

Dan Taggart, Harry Starr, Benjamin Miller, Sam Rogers, Harry Grange, Frank Miller and Ollie Linebauch

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MUNCY TEXTILE COMPANY

1929-1932  

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GLENBROOK WOOLEN MILLS

1937-1944

In 1936 the Muncy Woolen Mill was purchased by S.L. Hoffman of New York.

1937

The First Baptist Church, built in 1842, sat on the northwest corner of High and Market Streets. It was sold to Muncy Woolen Mills in 1898 and razed.  Ninety years later.. 

In April of 1937, a title insurance company attempted to settle a 90 year old mortgage on the building. That same month, after not operating for several years, the mill was updated and running once again.

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WELDON PAJAMAS

1944-1960

"With employment reaching 350 in 1957, this pajama manufacturer was the second largest employer in Muncy. Weldon's closed their Muncy operation in 1960 and a year later Sprout Waldron bought the building for storage." - Historical Marker

According to Elmer Fruet’s wife Teresa, “Thanks to the people who worked there, Weldon’s made quality sleepwear for men and women unlike what’s available now.” 

It’s widely claimed the name Weldon is a combination of the words “Well done.” As many as 350 employees staffed the three floors of workable space in the brick building fronting Market Street.

"One of the perks Francis Smith arranged were annual factory picnics. Held on the 4th of July, it started off the company’s annual vacation week. First held on factory grounds, space was soon overgrown so the event moved to Trout Pond Park.” - Mrs Elmer Fruet

The Weldon production in Muncy ended in December of 1960.

 Weldon’s general manager Jack Smith, in  a statement for the papers said, “Economic conditions do not warrant continued operations at the Muncy plant.”

The building and business was owned by Joseph Smith of Williamsport.  Muncy Business and Industry leaders met with the Greater Williamsport Chamber of Commerce in an attempt to find tenants for the vacated building.

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INTERVIEW WITH

Frank Miller

Muncy Woolen Mill Employee

In 1956, the Williamsport Sun Gazette interviewed Frank Miller of East Water Street in Muncy.  He was at the time the "only person still living who was on the first payroll of the original Muncy Woolen Mill."  [Slight correction - the first woolen mill in Muncy was built by Samuel Rogers.  Miller was an original employee of the Coulter, Rogers and Company, which was not the first woolen mill in Muncy.]

Miller spun the last cloth to go through the Muncy Woolen Mill.  "Due to his knowledge of the manufacture of wool, he was often called to the old Bryantown woolen mill when it was owned by Ellison and Osler.  He also spun the last thread at the Bryantown Mill"

Miller had kept many of the old mill records, including a list of those who were working in the carding room in December 1885.  On that list, according to the Sun Gazette article, was:

Bruce Smith

James Waterhouse

Frank Hamilton

George Campbell

Harry Shoemaker

Charles Longenberger

"The Muncy Woolen Mill at one time turned out such superior blankets that they were cherished for years and became known all over "the world. When a bride received a pair of "Muncy Blankets" as gift it was considered she had received the best.

 James Coulter and Samuel and George Rogers were the original owners and operators of the Muncy Woolen Mills. Previous to this time the Rogers brothers had operated woolen mill at Dunwoody. 

 After the Civil War James Coulter, together with Samuel Bryan, took over the operation of the mill at Bryantown, . Mr. Coulter came to Muncy from the Bryantown mill. Before that he was connected with woolen mills in Philadelphia, where he and his family resided.

 The old canal played an important part in the history of the Muncy  Woolen Mill. It was located on the canal and Mr. Miller recalls  when a new boiler for the mill was brought in on a canal flat boat. Sometimes boats were brought to the mill's basin, to be tied up for the winter. 

 

The Muncy firm operated continuously under the families of the original owners, the Coulters and the Rogers, from 1883 until 1927. Samuel Coulter, son of  James Coulter, was the last head of the firm who belonged to a family of an original owner 

Now residing in  Muncy are Frank S. 

Rogers, son of George Rogers, one of the original mill owners, and W. F. Venrick, son-in: law of James Coulter, another original. owner. Both Mr. Rogers. and Mr. Venrick had important roles. in the manufacture of the famous Muncy Blankets"

Coulter and John Wannamaker were personal friends, and the Wannamaker store in Philadelphia was one of the "foremost customers" of the Muncy mill.

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SPROUT WALDRON STORAGE
ANDRITZ

In the 1979 Historical District Report for Muncy:

Muncy Woolen Mills - (West side of S. Market St., 100 block) 1882 Three and one-half story, brick, Victorian industrial building, featuring a twelve-bay by five-bay rectangular configuration with each recessed bay possessing a twelve light double hung window. Originally constructed by the Muncy Woolen Mills Company, the structure is now used as storage by the Sprout-Waldron Company, a division of Koppers Company, Inc.

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TORN DOWN

In 2013, the Muncy Woolen Mill building was owned by Andritz, and had been sitting vacant for some time.  A storm in April of that year blew a hole into the brick building, and it was declared unsafe - slated to be torn down.  "It's sad because the building has such great history in Muncy, generations of Muncyians have worked here when it was a mill or Weldon's making pajamas," said Bill Poulton of the Muncy Historical Society.

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READ MORE

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Check this article:

“Muncy’s Industries in the 1890's,” The Now and Then,

Vol, XVII, #11, April 1974, p. 505.

According to the Historical Marker at 16 south market street in Muncy:

"In 1882, the firm known as Coulter, Rogers and Company purchased this land and erected a large three story 'L' shaped building here for the purpose of producing wool blankets. By 1890 the firm was doing business as Muncy Woolen Mill and turning out 50,000 blankets a year.

Early in 1929 the business closed but reopened in August as the Muncy Textile Company and the employees were making 300-400 blankets a day. Muncy Textile Company closed in 1932.

Beginning in 1937 until 1944, Glenbrook Mill operated from this site until the sale to Weldon Manufacturing. With employment reaching 350 in 1957, this pajama manufacturer was the second largest employer in Muncy. Weldon's closed their Muncy operation in 1960 and a year later Sprout Waldron bought the building for storage. The building was razed in 2013.

The First Baptist Church, built in 1842, sat on the northwest corner of High and Market Streets. It was sold to Muncy Woolen Mills in 1898 and razed.

The Muncy Cross Cut

The canal and then the railroad spur, offering its low-cost transportation, facilitated the growth of Muncy's new "merchants' class." Funded by Muncy's merchants, the "Muncy Cut" allowed canal boats plying the West Branch Canal to directly access downtown Muncy.

The privately operated cross-cut canal ran nearly a mile from the Port Penn section, ending at the Woolen Mills Factory. Beyond the mill was the "Basin" or turnaround area of the "Muncy Cut" canal. L. B. Sprout relocated his business to Muncy for canal access.

"The manufacturing industries of Muncy have increased greatly during the past decade. The Muncy Woolen Mills Company, founding in 1882, after a prosperous career of ten years, was chartered February 12, 1892, with a capital of $100,000. The directors are George H. Rogers, James Coulter, Samuel Rogers, and Samuel Coulter, Muncy; Uriah Megahan and J. Clinton Hill, Williamsport. The mills of the company are situated on Market street near the basin, and the buildings are brick. The consumption of wool annually reaches 150,000 pounds. During the year 1891 the company manufactured and sold 30,000 blankets. From fifty to sixty hands are employed." - Meginness, History Of Lycoming County

"Samuel Rogers, the second, who became one of the most enterprising business men on the West Branch ... [came] to reside at the forks of the Loyalsock at the time the woolen factory was in operation and afterward moved to Muncy. ... Soon after the loss of the woolen factory Samuel Rodgers [sic], with his brother Jonathan, bought a mill property at Muncy, consisting of saw, grist and plaster mills, and to which they added a woolen mill. This property, after being operated for about ten years, was destroyed by fire. The brothers then dissolved partnership and Samuel built another factory near Muncy, where he continued for about fifteen years, when he established the White Deer woolen mills and later the Briar Creek mills in Columbia County. His sons established an extensive woolen factory on Bear creek, near the southern line of this county, in 1854, and his grandsons are now connected with the Muncy woolen mills. His death occurred in 1857." -  Notes and queries: Historical, biographical, and genealogical, chiefly relating to Interior Pennsylvania, Volume 2 - Engle

c. 1810 - Built woolen mill, Dam, Sawmill in [Forksville] "at the forks of Loyalsock Creek"

1816 Mill washed away in flood

1817 Samuel & Jonathan built Woolen Factory in Muncy.  Also a grist mill, plaster mill, and sawmill.

1826 fire destroyed the woolen mill.  After the fire Jonathan and Samuel dissolved their partnership, Samuel bought out Jonathan's share, and Jonathan went back to Forksville where he built another woolen factory.

1827 Samuel built a new three story brick factory on Muncy Creek - it consisted of a corn, plaster, and sawmill, as well as a cloth factory.

1841 - Samuel moved to "Hightown Union County", where he managed the White Deer Woolen Mills

1845 White Deer Woolen Mills burned

1846 Samuel Moved to Briar Creek Columbia County where he leased a mill with his sons Richard & Jeremiah

1854 Samuel Retired and returned to his farm in Muncy.  There his sons, Richard & Jeremiah, built a woolen mill in 1854.  "Richards son's Geroge, Samuel and Judson continued that business through another generation of woolen mill workers."

Samuel Rogers & His Mills

 

Rogers Woolen Mill, Forksville Pa
Located "at the foot of the covered bridge"

Mills Samuel Rogers Was Involved With:

• c. 1810 - Built woolen mill, Dam, Sawmill in [Forksville] "at the forks of Loyalsock Creek"
• 1816 Mill washed away in flood
• 1817 Samuel & Jonathan built Woolen Factory in Muncy.  Also a grist mill, plaster mill, and sawmill.
• 1826 fire destroyed the woolen mill.  After the fire Jonathan and Samuel dissolved their partnership, Samuel bought out Jonathan's share, and Jonathan went back to Forksville where he built another woolen factory.
• 1827 Samuel built a new three story brick factory on Muncy Creek - it consisted of a corn, plaster, and sawmill, as well as a cloth factory.
• 1841 - Samuel moved to "Hightown Union County", where he managed the White Deer Woolen Mills
• 1845 White Deer Woolen Mills burned
• 1846 Samuel Moved to Briar Creek Columbia County where he leased a mill with his sons Richard & Jeremiah
• 1854 Samuel Retired and returned to his farm in Muncy.  There his sons, Richard & Jeremiah, built a woolen mill in 1854.  "Richards son's Geroge, Samuel and Judson continued that business through another generation of woolen mill workers."

This photo, in the James V. Brown Archives, is labeled "Rogers Mill Remains", which leads me to think that the stone at the Forksville bridge may be from the old mill?  The Mill was situated where the bridge is today.

"Rogers Mill Remains"

The original mill was washed away and not a trace was left, according to all of the histories.  Some sources say they rebuilt in 1817 before leaving for Muncy, and most histories report that after the mill in Muncy burned in 1826, Jonathan returned to Forksville and ran a woolen mill there - these remains are likely from Jonathan's mill?  But that's just a guess.

More remains from the Rogers Mill

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The Following Text is from:

Weavers of A Legacy

By Jean Peterson Rosenkranz

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"By 1810 Samuel had moved from Delaware to Lycoming County, Pennsylvania and built a woolen mill, a dam and sawmill at the Forks of the Loyalsock Creek. It isn’t clear just when Samuel moved his family from Delaware–certainly not until he had built a house for them; thus the confusion as to whether Mary was born in Delaware or Pennsylvania. The woolen mill was built near the abutment of the covered bridge at Forksville. Seven houses were also constructed for the Rogers families and employees. Jonathan and William remained in Delaware until they were able to close the business there in 1813 and then rejoin Samuel at the new plant on the Loyalsock.

John Wesley Rogers and his wife, Anna with a huge cast iron pot from the dye factory in their lawn in Forksville

During the War of 1812 the Rogers brothers had lucrative government contracts to supply Kersey cloth for the army uniforms as previously noted. To expand on this story, it is reported that they had used several teams to transport their fabrics to Philadelphia and bring back raw material and merchandise–a six-weeks round trip. Brothers Richard and David were the chief teamsters and were on the road both winter and summer. They each had a heavy Conestoga wagon with a team of eight horses. There were few bridges on the creeks and rivers that had to be crossed and none at all on the Loyalsock. Between Hillsgrove and Forksville, a distance of nine miles, they had to ford the Loyalsock Creek 16 times. The horses were never blanketed and seldom enjoyed the luxury of a stable. We might assume that living conditions for Richard and David while on the road were not much better than that of their horses.

In 1816 the Rogers’ sawmill and factory were swept away by a ravaging flood of the Loyalsock Creek. This flood was so devastating that the only remnant ever found was a large dye kettle used for dyeing the blue Kersey cloth. 

The Rogers of Forksville (from left): John W., Fred M., and William H. Rogers with dye kettle

It was discovered several months after the flood in a deep hole about a mile below the Forks which became known as the “Dye Kettle Hole.” 

The old dye kettle itself was hauled by oxen teams to the new woolen factory below Forksville. Today it is housed at the Sullivan County Historical Museum in Laporte, Pennsylvania.

In 1817 Samuel and Jonathan bought property on Muncy Creek near the borough of Muncy in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania where the enterprising brothers built a frame building to house a new woolen factory. They also built a grist mill, plaster mill and sawmill all of which were operated in connection with the woolen mill.

Remains of the Rogers Mill - which Rogers mill?  Possibly the one Jonathan built after 1826

In 1826 the woolen mill was destroyed by fire. After this disaster Samuel and Jonathan dissolved their business relations, and Samuel bought out Jonathan's interest. Jonathan returned to the Forks where he established another woolen factory that same year. He operated that factory until his death in 1830.

This Woolen Mill in Muncy was incorporated in 1883 - is it the same building and location as the Rogers Mills?  I believe so, but I am not yet sure.

After the fire, Samuel immediately turned his attention to building an even larger, 3-story woolen factory on Muncy Creek, this time of brick. The Muncy Mills consisted of a corn, plaster and sawmill as well as the cloth factory. He was engaged in that operation from about 1827 until 1840.

Samuel suffered his most devastating loss on December 17, 1836 with the death of his wife, Mary. She had punctured her wrist with the tongue of a Jew’s harp. Although the wound itself was seemingly minor, it apparently became infected and resulted in her death.

In 1841 Samuel moved to Hightown in Union County, Pennsylvania where he managed and operated the White Deer Woolen Mills for about five years. A news clipping, dated September 27, 1845 from an unidentified newspaper, notes “a fire at Samuel Rogers woolen factory at the mouth of White Deer Creek totally consumed the factory. The machinery was insured by Lycoming County Mutual in the amount of $1800.” I can find no other record of this second fire, but the account in the newspaper is most likely correct and would account for Samuel’s move to Brier Creek, Columbia County, Pennsylvania in 1846.

1854 Map

My research of the White Deer Woolen Mill began with the structure built in 1850 - I had not known there was an earlier woolen mill at White Deer.

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2021/02/white-deer-woolen-mills.html

There he leased a woolen mill with his sons, Richard G. and Jeremiah A., and continued the business for another eight years until his retirement in 1854. He returned to his farm at Carpenter’s Run in Muncy Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania where he owned 1800 acres of timberland on Bear Creek. At the east and south branch junction of this creek, Samuel’s sons, Richard and Jeremiah, built a woolen mill in 1854. Richard’s sons, George, Samuel and Judson, continued that business through another generation of woolen mill workers.

Although most of the literature review about Samuel deals with his woolen mill endeavors, there are also references that give us clues about his other interests and his personality. Several sources refer to him as a highly esteemed citizen. It was also noted that he was a close observer, thoughtful, kind-hearted, and possessed good judgment. He had a massive frame, but it was his social abilities that commanded respect and attention.

He was the originator and one of the first directors of the Lycoming Mutual Fire Insurance Company, an institution organized in 1840. In a few years it had developed into one of the foremost mutual fire insurance companies in the whole country. After Samuel’s personal experience with fire loss, it is hardly surprising that he would be the director of a fire insurance company.

Lycoming Mutual Fire Insurance Co Building (Still stands today)

"Diagonally across the street is what was once described as the most beautiful building in Pennsylvania. Built in 1874 the ‘Italianate Stucco’ structure with eyebrow windows was home to the Lycoming County Fire Insurance Company. The firm was established in 1840 as Lycoming County Mutual Fire Insurance Company and in 1870 amended its charter to reflect its business expansion into other counties and states. The company failed when it was unable to pay its insured losses following the Chicago fire of 1871 and the Great Milton (PA) fire of 1880." - Muncy Walking Tour

Samuel Rogers, (assume this to be Samuel, Jr. rather than Samuel, Sr.) along with Powell Bird and a William King, played a major role in the establishment of the first school in Lycoming/Sullivan County. These three were district trustees in 1816 when widow Sarah Huckell conveyed a small plot of land at Forksville for a schoolhouse. A July 4th celebration was held by the local settlers to begin clearing the land, and the school was officially opened on December 1, 1816. Moses Rogers, Samuel's youngest brother at the age of 10, made biographical history as the bearer of water to the school construction workers.

Samuel was a member of the Baptist Church as were most of the other English families on the Loyalsock. He was one of the chief organizers of the First Baptist Church established at Muncy Creek. Although it appears he had been a Baptist all of his life, he was not baptized into the church until April 25, 1823 at the Rogers’ factory at Muncy. Samuel is credited with organizing the first Sunday School in the Muncy Valley and frequently served as moderator of the Northumberland Baptist Association.....

Samuel is buried in Muncy Cemetery.

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Today the dye kettle is in front of the Sullivan County Historical Museum in Laporte Pa.

" The Rogers Woolen Mill was built in 1810 near the abutment of the covered bridge at Forksville by Samuel Rogers. It may have employed ten men, and prospered during the war years (1812 to ‘14).  

 The delivery of the finished product, blue Kernsey cloth for the U.S. service uniforms, required six weeks by Conestoga wagon. 

 This plant was destroyed by a flood in 1816. A new mill was built two miles down the Sock in 1826, by Samuel and Jonathan Rogers and was sold the same year to John Ostler.  This mill prospered during the war among the States and was operated intermittently until 1885. 

Obsolete spindles, a loom and carding machines were still in place when the old building was torn down in 1916. 

 The only relic now left of this pioneer industry is an old dye kettle on the lawn of the Rogers home in Forksville.  This kettle rolled nearly two miles down the Sock in the 1816 flood and for ten years rested in a deep hole, still known as the old dye kettle swimming hole. It was dragged from its muddy bed by oxen, for use in the second mill. 

Most of the flax and wool used was grown locally." - From Sullivan County Industries

All that could be found after the flood was  single log imbedded in the gravel of the creek. And, several  months later,  the dye kettle was found in a deep hole in the Loyalsock.  It was  pulled out by a team of oxen, and used as a flower pot at the Rogers home.  

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FACEBOOK POST HERE

The Rogers Dye Kettle - 

While researching the Muncy Woolen Mill, I came across these notes about Samuel Rogers, who had a mill at Forksville before coming to Muncy.  After Muncy he went to White Deer - which is the first I had heard of the White Deer Woolen Mill existing before 1850.  

Apparently the first White Deer Woolen Mill burned down in 1846, the 1850 mill was the second Woolen Mill in White Deer.

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The Rogers Mill Dye Kettle

"In 1816 the Rogers’ sawmill and factory [Forksville, Sullivan County] were swept away by a ravaging flood of the Loyalsock Creek. This flood was so devastating that the only remnant ever found was a large dye kettle used for dyeing the blue Kersey cloth. 

It was discovered several months after the flood in a deep hole about a mile below the Forks which became known as the “Dye Kettle Hole.” 

The old dye kettle itself was hauled by oxen teams to the new woolen factory below Forksville. Today it is housed at the Sullivan County Historical Museum in Laporte, Pennsylvania."

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As for the "Rogers Mill Remains"  - this would not be from the first mill, destroyed in 1816.  It could be from a mill built to replace that one, or it could be that Jonathan Rogers built a new mill after the first Muncy Woolen mill burnt down in 1826 (at Which time Jonothan returned to Forksville)

A Search For Supplee Mill

 

Periodically I get a request to find a photo of Supplee Mill, in Union County Pa. From the oral accounts, this mill stood until about 1950, on Turtle Creek, south of Lewisburg.  At one time, the area was called "Turtleville".

In 1873, when up for sale, the property was described as:

New Mill House, 36x43 feet, three stories high, with three run of barrs, all necessary gearing, an machinery for doing first class work.

Water Power

The 12 acre property also included a mansion house, a tenant house, a new barn 30x60 feet.

With the mill existing as long as we believe it did - there really should be a photo of it out there somewhere?  But so far, none of us have turned one up.  Every year or so I run new searches - and I realized I am repeating a lot of my work over and over again.  So although I have no photo, here's the time line/history that I have pulled so far.  Perhaps someone with a bit more time and dedication may wish to track down descendants of those who ran the mill - one of the family members may have a photo.

There was at the very least, one saw mill, one fulling mill, and one flour mill on Turtle Creek.  At times, when a mill is mentioned, I cannot be certain which mill is being referred to.  For that reason, I have included all of the mill information I have come across, and I will leave it to others to sort out which is which.

Lippincott's Gazetteer of the World, 1880:

"Turtleville, A hamlet of Union County.  3 miles from Lewisburg.  It has a flour mill and a saw-mill.  "

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According to Water-Powered Gristmills of Union County Pennsylvania 

In 1770 A Connecticut Yankee named William Speddy in 1770 followed a claim on land in Pennsyvania and settled along Turtle Creek on the site where the mill would later be built.  Eventually his deed was deemed defective and he left the area.  "He is remembered in the area by a geographical feature, Speddy's Gap"  https://amzn.to/4l5e4VS  

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1772-1773   
Aurant, John - Jenkins Mill, Turtle Creek 
An 1874 article in the Lewisburg Chronicle lists the mill on Turtle Creek as Jenkins mill, run by John Aurant.

John Dietrich Aurand (afterward Reverend) enlisted in Colonel Stewart's Regiment, General Wayne's brigade. He had been learning milling at his father's mill, on Turtle creek. His father sold the mill this year, and, possibly, going down the country in search of employment, he fell in with the recruiting officer. - Buffalo Valley Annals 

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1833
Cornelius, Jesse 
Jesse's  daughter Jane Cornelius Himmelreich was born at Supplees Mill [1925 birthday announcement, repeated in 1931 obit]

Lewisburg Journal:

Jesse Cornelius, 31 May 1833

Mr. Jesse Cornelius who was attending the mill on Turtle Creek was accidentally killed by falling into the works of the mill...violent pain in the head. Mr. Cornelius was a sober, honest and industrious man, and was generally respected and esteemed by those who knew him. We understand he has left a wife and six children to mourn his meloncholy exit.

1833. May 31, Jesse Cornelius, miller, at Trester's old mill, on Turtle creek, was caught in the machinery. Ribs, breast bone, &c., broken. He died immediately. - Annals of the Buffalo Valley by John Blair Lynn

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1850-1864
Brown, Michael
1850 & 1856 Map of Union County 
& in 1864 Newspaper]

1850 Map, Snyder County Pa

1864 newspaper mentions a sale "near Michael Brown's mill on Turtle Creek"

In the 1850 and 1860 census, Michael's occupation was "Farmer".  In 1870, "retired farmer".

March 1876, Lewisburg Chronicle

Note - The Jefferson School is also recorded as having been named Brown's School, or Supplee's Mill School.

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1865 - Wolfe

William Wolfe, according to his 1922 obituary, was born on "the homestead farm at Supplee's Mill.  He was the 3rd son of Michael R. & Jane Wolfe."

Michael Wolfe 1832-1892

married Rachel Gundy

Son - William

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Supplee Mill

Supplee, G & Co [1868 Map - shown between 2 branches of the creek]

In the 1868 map, business directory

A. Kneuss Grain Dealer, Lumberman

An 1888 article in the Northumberland Press mentions Kneuss - 

"Turtle creek flows into the west branch of the Susquehanna four miles above Northumberland and the above named village is located at its confluence. The Burgmeister of the village appears to rest in the hands of Col. Alf. Kneass, whose tall commanding form can be seen supervising his mills together with about one mile square of land. He is the inventor, architect and mechanic of his mills, and book-keeper and sweeper of his office, and how he manages all and continues to stand straight up all time is not altogether explained in modern physiology. "

Rodenbaugh, J & Son - Supplees Keystone Mill ran by  1872-1877

March 1873, Brown Mill For Sale, listed by  Jacob Rodenbaugh

[Rev. Jacob Rodenbaugh 1812-1894]

In 1873, when up for sale, the property was described as:

New Mill House, 36x43 feet, three stories high, with three run of barrs, all necessary gearing, an machinery for doing first class work.

Water Power

The 12 acre property also included a mansion house, a tenant house, a new barn 30x60 feet.

1873

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1881 - A. H. Supplee [Born 1834]

In 1881 newspapers across the state carried the news that A.H. Supplee Jr, of Supplees Mill, had run off with Mrs. Jere Yeager, the wife of the man who was in charge of the mill, while Yeager was away on business.  Mrs Yeager, who reportedly "eloped" with Supplee, left her young son [age 3 or 4] with a neighbor.  Her parents arrived and took custody of their grandson.

 A.H. Supplee was not yet 21 years of age, Mrs Yeager was "about 24 and is said to be quite good looking."  Supplee had taken some $3,000  [close to $100,000 in 2025] out of his account, before leaving with the woman.  The mill books were examined and found to be in good condition.  

In the 1870 Census, Johnathan and Eliza Suplee were in East Buffalo Twp, with 9 year old Alexander.  [Also Howard 12, and Jennie 5].  Alexander Howard Supplee, born Aug 2 1860

In the 1880 Census, Alexander, age 20, was listed as a "boarder", and a miller, in East Buffalo Twp. In the same household were Jeremiah Yeager, his wife 22 year old wife Elinore [Barner], and their 3 year old son Benjamin.

Although I can't be certain, it does appear that Elinore returned to her husband Jeremiah before too long.

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1876 Leedam & Robert's

1876

On March 26th 1877, "Mill stock and Personal Property Of Leedom and Robert's Supplee Mill" sold at public auction.

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1883- A.H. Supplee

A. H. Supplee

[Alexander Henderson Supplee died in 1882  - but I am uncertain how he is related to the A.H. Supplee who ran off with Yeagers wife]

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1885

Overhauled Flour Mill now under the efficient management of 

Mr. J.W. Zeller

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1886 - S. S. Meyers

Samuel S. Meyers 1839-1921, wife Phebe

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1892 - M.R. Supplee

From Abrams, Montgomery County

Owns Mill, visits to check on it about once a year.

Possibly Mark Rambo Supplee  1836-1901?

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1894 Mr. S. Potter

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1910 - Potters Mill, Jacob Fetzer

1920 Postal Map - which I have not yet located myself

Jacob K. Fetzer, genial miller at Potters Mill East Buffalo Twp

In 1922, "Mrs Emma Fetzer, wife of Jacob Fetzer, died at the age of 62 at their home at Supplee's Mill, East Buffalo Township" - The Miltonian

Jacob Fetzer 1854-1924

Wife Emma Watson Fetzer, Adopted daughter Hazel

1920 Census - Miller, Chop Mill East Buffalo, Union, Pennsylvania.  Also there in 1910. 

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1936 - part of a historical tour

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Torn Down About 1950

Local resident reported that the mill was taken down in 1950

According to Water-Powered Gristmills of Union County Pennsylvania by  Rich Thomas P and David W Del Testa:

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Turtle Creek Mentions in Lynn's Annals Of Buffalo Valley: 

Turtle creek was so called before 1769, and in the latter year I found the stream below it, traversing Dry valley, called Lee's run, after John Lee, the first settler of the site of Winfield.

He [William Speddy] chose for his residence the prettiest little dale in Buffalo Valley. It is on Turtle creek, near what is now Supplee's (formerly Treaster's) mill. Jacob Brown now owns the place. 

On the 3d of October, John Aurand bought the " Jenkin's mill " property, on Turtle creek, and it went by the name of " Aurand's mill," when he sold it to Morgan Jenkin. It is still owned by the Jenkin's family. Doctor Harbaugh, in his " Fathers of the German Reformed Church," states, upon the authority of John Aurand, of Yellow Springs, Blair county, a grandson of John Aurand, that the latter built both flour and saw-mill at Turtle creek. Wilson, however, had some sort of a mill there as early as 1771. John Wilson died during the year 1772, according to my researches — Miss Sandford, ante, says in 1774.

John Dietrich Aurand (afterward Reverend) enlisted in Colonel Stewart's Regiment, General Wayne's brigade. He had been learning milling at his father's mill, on Turtle creek. His father sold the mill this year, and, possibly, going down the country in search of employment, he fell in with the recruiting officer.

Improvements of this year — Wendell Baker's saw-mill, (at Cowan;) Alexander Beatty's tan-yard, at New Berlin ; Christopher Weiser's fulling-mill, on Turtle creek, now Peter Wolfe's.  [Note, a fulling mill is a cloth mill ]

Dietrich Aurand, who had followed milling at different places down the river, removed, with his family, into the Valley, and settled on a farm on Turtle creek, midway between its source and outlet, about five miles above Jenkins' mill. The farm he was on had a reserved water right, and was given to him by his father, with the design that he should build a merchant mill on it, and he intended so to do ; but the Hessian fly having proved very destructive to the wheat crops for upwards of ten years, he lost severely in purchases of wheat for the French, and lost by bailing, so he could not build the mill, and had to sell and remove to an adjoining farm, in 1801.

1838 - In the fall, the iron ore below the mouth of Turtle creek was found to be of a superior quality, and its development was commenced by Napoleon Hughes, of Franklin county, a short distance above the site of the present furnace of Beaver, Marsh & Co., a few hundred yards from the river bank. 

1846 - Friday evening, March 13, Thomas Follmer and his son Henry and William Gundy, son of Major John Gundy, who were managing the Farmers' company store at Turtle creek, were drowned at the mouth of that creek. They were going in a boat, about ten, p. m., to visit the store-house on the opposite side of the creek, and were on their return, when the mill dam gave way, and the boat struck a timber raft. William Gundy's body was found in the boat under the raft, the next day; the others were carried down the river, and their bodies were found three weeks afterward, some miles below. The flood in the river at this time exceeded that of 1810, being six and one half inches above the mark of that date on Kremer's store-house. The canal was broken, mails stopped, the Milton bridge badly injured, the bridge on the North Branch, at Northumberland, carried away, as well as the one at Duncan's island, and the Harrisburg bridge in pa

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