Newlin Grist Mill Park (11/26/2020)

Thursday, November 26, 2020
Happy Thanksgiving!

We have already visited the Newlin Grist Mill in Glen Mills, PA (6/15/2019). However, there are also trails in the Newlin Grist Mill Park.

Flooding in early August 2020 resulted in extensive damage throughout the park and work has been ongoing for clean-up and repair.

Markham Station (1857, now the Newlin Grist Mill Visitor Center)
by the tracks of the former Octorara branch of the
Pennsylvania Railroad; we started on the Industrial Trail
that follows the railroad track bed to the west

Log cabin

"Rapids" in West Branch Chester Creek

Frog Pond

The flooding destroyed the boardwalk
along one side of Frog Pond

Concord Creek Dam; at one time you could cross
the creek by foot along the top of the stone dam

There is another stone dam on the West Branch Chester Creek, but access was closed. All the Newlin Grist Mill Park literature called the secondary creek Concord Creek. On maps, it is Webb Creek.

Control gate on the headrace that turns off above the dam (KSS)

The headrace is the water channel that brings water to power the waterwheel at the mill.

Industrial Trail along the railroad track bed

Nature is taking over a section of railroad track (KSS)

Above the dam is the area that used to be the Mill Pond

Railroad bridge (KSS)

Approaching Concord Road, evidence of a Gneiss Quarry?

Evidence of some industry

Old picnic pavilion

Entering area of conifers (KSS)

Fruit of the Maclura pomifera/Osage Orange Tree
are sometimes called hedge apples, but in
Pennsylvania they are called monkey balls

Newlin Grist Mill Park trail marker

This nesting box has predator guard; note
in the background the old Christmas Tree farm  (KSS)

It appears the center of the trunk is dead wood, and the
outer live wood attracted moss when this tree was cut (KSS)

The odd shapes and bare limbs of
Metasequoia glyptostroboides/Dawn Redwoods

Partially sawn log? Bark harvesting? (KSS)

Overgrown Christmas Tree Farm (KSS)

Not an Osage Orange! But there are Juglans nigra/Black Walnuts

Marshall Springhouse (1718, moved here in 1977) (KSS)

Marshall Springhouse

Picnic grove

We follow the Mill Race Trail
alongside the headrace (KSS)

Some of the missing bridges

Blacksmith Shop (1975 reconstruction using local field stone)

Bridge over the spillway, with the headrace
to the right headed for the Newlin Grist Mill

The spillway normally has water falling over the wall and
flowing to fill the lower fishing ponds

A trickle of water in the fishing pond

We hiked about three miles today.