The Restoration of Peirce Mill

The final restoration work is supported by the Obama Administration's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The work includes removal of the asphalt parking lot and comfort station, which will make the site more closely resemble its appearance when the mill was operating. An underground pump will be installed to re-circulate the water used to power the millwheel. The ARRA project will also fund the construction of a bus parking area just uphill from the Peirce Barn where school buses can safely offload students visiting the mill. Improvements will be made to the bicycle path around the mill, along with handicap access paths and an upgrading of electrical and mechanical systems.

A temporary wooden fence has been erected around the perimeter of the site, closing off public access to the mill and the barn’s visitor center for the duration of the work.

Last winter, craftsmen began putting in place the massive gears and shafts that are connected to and actually turn the millstones. Later this year, they expect to assemble the twelve-foot diameter oak water wheel, which is being fabricated at their shop in southern Maryland.

The mill project also includes a partial re-creation of the Peirce Plantation apple orchard. FOPM in partnership with the National Park Service plans to enlist schoolchildren in the planting, tending, and harvesting of the apples.

The Vision for Peirce Mill

The restoration of Peirce Mill, sponsored by funds raised by the Friends of Peirce Mill (FOPM), began in 1997 when we retained Quinn Evans Architects and Robert Silman Associates (structural engineers) to perform a series of architectural and engineering studies of the structure. At the same time, the FOPM engaged Derek Ogden, a leading millwright and mill restoration expert, to examine the condition of the wooden milling machinery and to recommend repair or replacement of parts required to make it operational.

The complete plan for the restoration of Peirce Mill consists of a preliminary study phase, followed by a three-phase restoration effort.

Study Phase: Technical studies of the condition of the mill and its machinery by architects, structural engineers and mill restoration specialists.

Phase 1: Repairs to the internal structure of the building, including the columns and beams which support the first floor, and selected floor joists.

Phase 2: Repairs and/or replacement of elements of the wooden milling machinery, including the hurst frame, water wheel, main shaft, and internal gears and shafts.

Phase 3: Installation of a pumped water system using water from Rock Creek to drive the water wheel and the millstones.