$470K Requested To Restore Historic Grist, Saw Mill In Long Valley

LONG VALLEY, NJ — The Morris County Board of County Commissioners is adding their support to the preservation of the historic Obadiah LaTourette Grist and Saw Mill.

The board was asked earlier this week to approve $3.6 million in grants from the county's Preservation Trust Fund to help restore, preserve, and protect 23 historic sites in 15 towns throughout Morris County.

Among these are the Obadiah LaTourette Grist and Saw Mill in Washington Township.

Approximately 88 percent of the funding recommended by the Morris County Historic Preservation Trust Fund Review Board is directed toward construction grants for 17 of the projects.

These grants will pay for design and specification work for future construction on four sites, preservation planning for one, and research and development for another in order to submit a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.

The Washington Township Land Trust of Morris County applied for $470,500 in funding for the grist and saw mill, which was built around 1750.

The recommended grant will fund the stabilization of the stone foundation, which will include the installation of a cofferdam and micropiles beneath the foundation, as well as the installation of a new concrete cap.

According to the Washington Township Land Trust, those additions will help control the impacts of the river flowing against the mill's anterior foundation walls for nearly three centuries.

Since 2003, when grants were first issued for protecting historic sites through Morris County's Preservation Trust Fund, Morris County has awarded 512 grants totaling nearly $46 million to assist in the preservation, protection, and restoration of 122 historical properties.

The Obadiah LaTourette Grist and Saw Mill are listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places as a contributing property in the German Valley Historic District, according to the Washington Township Land Trust.

The mill, which was originally owned by Philip Weise, was vital to the economy and development of the German Valley having served as a market for farm products as well as a business/meeting location for much of its history.

The mill was originally powered by two water wheels, but owner Obadiah LaTourette converted it to turbine power in the 1870s. According to the Historical Society, the mill operated until the 1940s, when it was purchased by the Land Trust, along with 10 acres, in 1991.