Newlin Grist Mill

The Newlin Grist Mill and the surrounding 160-acre park is a place for exploration of both history and the environment. The site features a working grist mill, offers public history and nature programs, and includes over eight miles of walking and hiking trails. Whether you are involved in preservation, education, outdoor recreation, or just relaxing, there is something for you.

In the winter 1682/83, Nicholas Newlin and his family landed in Upland (adjacent to Chester, PA), newly arrived from Ireland and seeking religious and economic opportunities. The family settled in Concord Township and began building a new life for themselves. In 1704, Nicholas’ son Nathaniel constructed a grist mill now known as the Newlin Grist Mill. The mill served its community as a source for grinding grains and strengthened the economy by exporting products to international markets around the world.

Until 1941, the mill continued to grind grains and sell flour products under several different owners (Newlin, Trimble, Sharpless, and Hill). Each generation of owner also updated machinery and expanded the building to meet the needs of the time. These changes can be seen in the construction and landscape of the Newlin Grist Mill.

In the 1930s, a ninth-generation descendent of Nicholas Newlin visited the mill looking for his family’s origins and became captivated by its character and traditions. E. Mortimer and Elizabeth Newlin purchased the mill in 1956 and immediately began restoring the building and equipment. Mr. and Mrs. Newlin established the Nicholas Newlin Foundation in 1960 giving it a mission that remains relevant today:

The purpose of the Nicholas Newlin Foundation is to preserve its land and its historic buildings for the pleasure and education of the public.

In an area of urban growth, the Foundation maintains open land as a refuge for plants, animals, and birds, and for the people who come to enjoy them. In an era of digital technology, it offers visitors insights into the vanished life of the rural eighteenth century. This two-fold objective of environmental and historical concerns is combined in a single theme wherever possible.

Following the ideals of its founder, E. Mortimer Newlin, the Foundation will strive to enhance its service to the public, while securing its future by managing its finances wisely.

For more than sixty years, the Nicholas Newlin Foundation has served its community through the preservation of history and open space, conservation of plants, animals, and waterways, and as a place for both education and recreation. Today, the Nicholas Newlin Foundation continues to maintain the Newlin Grist Mill and Park along with its twelve historic structures and over eight miles of hiking trails. Through a distinct balance of dedication to tradition and acceptance of innovation, the Newlin Grist Mill provides opportunities to connect with history and nature.

Case, Robert P. Prosperity And Progress: Concord Township, Pennsylvania, 1683-1983. Chester, Pa.: Concord Township Historical Society, 1983.

Our History, Newlin Grist Mill. Accessed December 9th 2020. https://newlingristmill.org/.

Sellers, M. N. S.; Wallace, A. F. C; and H. D. Woodfin, Jr. (editors). Place, Memory and Time: Essays Commemorating the Tricentennial of the Nathaniel Newlin Grist Mill, 1704-2004. Glen Mills, PA. Nicholas Newlin Press, 2004.