Did Ya Know?: The Creeks That Ran This County
The creeks and waterways of Monroe County are some of the most beautiful scenery that makes us a tourist destination today. But long before the Poconos were a getaway, those same waterways, particularly the Brodhead and McMichael creeks, were industrial infrastructure.
Mills dotted the landscape throughout the county. Stroudsburg had several, including a flour mill built by county namesake Daniel Stroud along Pocono Creek in 1822-23, and later mills along McMichael Creek. William Wallace built a sawmill on McMichael Creek in 1865, while the Kitson Woolen Mill was also turning out textiles nearby. Up around Analomink, Stokes' Mill ground grain along with another operation near the old Sebring's Power House. Smaller sawmills and gristmills could be found in Barrett, Paradise, Price, Pocono, and Smithfield Townships. Basically, if a creek had enough current, somebody built a wheel on it.
Almost none of it is left; most of these mills are gone entirely or reduced to a foundation stone somewhere off a hiking trail. But one of these mills, which played an important role in the Revolutionary War, survives today.
Jacob Brinker's mill in Sciota was built in 1730 and was originally a log structure. Then in 1779, General John Sullivan marched roughly 4,000 Continental troops through on their way to “punish” Iroquois forces allied with the British, and Brinker's mill got drafted as the expedition's supply depot. It supplied roughly 4,000 hungry soldiers leaving a miller who probably didn't sleep for a week.
In 1800, the new owner Fenner (the first name is variously cited as Barrett, Barnet, or Bernhardt) tore down the original log structure and built the stone mill that still stands on Business Route 209 today. In between, John George Keller owned the mill and gave his name to the village of Kellersville down the road.
Hamilton Township just spent approximately $1.25 million to repair and restore the mill. The township has owned it since 1974 and it is on the National Register of Historic Places.
