| 1631 |
Capt. William Claiborne establishes the first
English settlement in Maryland. Builds Kent Fort
and eventually two windmills. |
|
|
1634 |
Leonard Calvert, a younger brother of
Cecil Calvert, the 2nd Lord Baltimore, lands on St.
Clements Island in the Potomac River to establish the
Palatinate of Maryland. |
|
|
1665 |
Thomas Williams receives a land grant patent for 600
acres called Wilton and soon after, another
called Wilton Addition, with both totaling 1,350
acres. |
|
|
1668 |
First of the grist mills built close to the site of
the present Wye Mill. |
|
|
1671 |
Thomas Williams leaves Maryland, ostensibly to avoid
payments of debts and settles in Northumberland Co., VA.
Upon his death, his heirs, Thomas II and Elizabeth
Williams become absentee landlords. |
|
|
1682-'83 |
Edward Barrowcliff built or rebuilt the mill on the
present site of the Wye Mill and operated it from about
1683 to 1693. |
|
|
1693 |
The Wye Mill is sold to Richard Sweatnam and
operated by him until his death in 1697. |
|
|
1697 |
The Wye Mill passes to William Sweatnam, son of
Richard, who operates the mill until 1703, when he is
thrown off the property by Richard Bennett III. |
|
| |
|
TOP |
|
1703 |
Bennett leases the two land patents from the heirs
of Thomas Williams and clear title to the land on which
the Wye Mill is located. |
|
|
1705 |
Bennett offers Sweatnam a 65 year indenture to
operate the mill but Sweatnam apparently refuses. |
|
|
1706 |
Richard Bennett III purchases the property for 350
pounds at the expiration of his lease. |
|
|
1706 |
Queen Anne's County formed out of Talbot and Kent
Counties with the Wye Mill serving as a marker on the
dividing line between Queen Anne and Talbot Counties. |
|
|
1740 |
Miller's house built south of the mill. Still
standing in 2007. National Register of Historic
Places |
|
|
1749 |
Richard Bennett dies without heirs and the mill and
property pass to Edward Lloyd III, a close friend and
executor of the estate. |
|
| |
|
TOP |
|
1759 |
An ad appears in the Maryland Gazette offering the
mill for lease. |
|
|
1770 |
Edward Lloyd III dies and the Wye Mill passes to his
son, Edward Lloyd, IV. |
|
|
1778 |
William Hemsley, the Lloyd's estate manager acquires
the mill. At this time Joshua Kennard is the
miller. |
|
|
1779 |
Congress contracts with Hemsley for 10,000 pounds
sterling to supply wheat, flour and bread to the
American Army under General Washington through 1783.
Mills from three Eastern Shore counties, including the
Wye Grist Mill, supply most of the bread eaten by the
Army. General Washington blocks British from
capturing Eastern Shore mills, which play pivotal role
in the war. |
|
|
1779 |
Wye Grist Mill ships flour out of Emerson's Landing
(Wye Landing) to Baltimore, destined for Washington's
Army enduring harsh winter bivouac conditions at Jockey
Hollow, New Jersey. |
|
|
1793 |
Alexander Hemsley, son of William, acquires the mill
from his father. |
|
|
1790-'98 |
Oliver Evans from Tuckahoe uses the Wye Grist Mill
to formulate his revolutionary factory automation ideas,
which improve milling processes, and the first great
American inventor. |
|
| |
|
TOP |
|
1812 |
William Hemsley dies and the mill is acquired by his
son, Alexander. |
|
|
1821 |
Samuel Hopkins, from a Quaker family of millers and
storekeepers, purchases the mill and becomes the first
miller to own the mill in over 100 years. Hopkins
family members own the mill for many years. |
|
|
1845 |
John R. Hopkins purchases the mill and a nearby
store from family members. He installed the first
of the Fitz steel water wheels. |
|
| |
|
TOP |
|
1850 |
The census of this year for Eastern Shore counties
indicated that the grain crops being grown in the area
included wheat, rye, Indian corn, oats, barley and
buckwheat. |
|
|
1877 |
John F. T. Brown purchases the mill and operated it
until 1899. In 1899, he installed a novel, "one or
two break mill" to generate white flour. This
novel installation was written about in the American
Miller magazine. |
|
|
1899 |
The mill is purchased by John S. Sewell, descended
from a long line of English millers. He replaced
the water wheel with two turbines. |
|
| |
|
TOP |
|
1918 |
The mill was purchased by Winthrop Blakeslee who
discontinued the use of turbines due to the insufficient
head of water and reinstalled the old Fitz steel
waterwheel and installed an early, successful
Anglo-American roller mill. |
|
| |
|
TOP |
|
1953 |
The last year of the Wye Mill's commercial
operation. Mr. Blakeslee sells the mill and the
mill pond to the State of Maryland; the pond to be
utilized as a fishing pond. |
|
|
1955 |
Mill dam destroyed and mill severely damages by two
hurricanes. |
|
|
1956 |
Rebuilding of the mill begins; sawmill and
blacksmith shop removed; dam rebuilt to U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers standards. Ownership of the mill is
transferred to the Society for the Preservation of
Maryland Antiquities (Preservation Maryland). |
|
|
1959 |
Mill running again. |
|
|
1970's |
Mill operated by Chesapeake College through a
Federal work program. |
|
|
1980's |
"Friends of Wye Mill" formed as a tax exempt, Sect.
501 (c)(3) charity. |
|
|
1984 |
Barton McGuire, an internationally known
professional miller is hired to operate the mill and
oversee major renovations accomplished by professional
millwright James Kricker. Charles Howell, a
retired miller from the Phillipsburg Manor mill in N.Y.
assists. |
|
|
1996 |
Preservation Maryland transfers the ownership of the
Wye Grist Mill and Museum to the mill's support group,
Friends of Wye Mill, Inc., which has been involved with
the mill since 1980. This group insures that the
Wye Grist Mill is preserved, operated, visited and
appreciated. |
|
| |
|
TOP |
|
2000-'07 |
TBA |
|
