Major Renovation Project Near Completion
What a difference a year makes!
The Van Wyck-Lefferts Tide Mill has seen amazing improvements in the past year. In 2021, we completed long-overdue repairs to the dam. The boulder walls on the east side of the dam were power washed and re-cemented, missing boulders were hoisted and re-secured, and the stone wall on the west side of the dam was rebuilt and extended 100 feet to connect to the northern shoreline. Soil that had migrated into the pond with each overtopping was recaptured, and the inner section of the dam was excavated and filled with stones wrapped in geotech fabric. The dam surface was restored to its original design height and slightly contoured to allow for controlled runoff. The dangerous and decayed upper bridge over the spillway was removed and the lower bridge beneath it was restored and new handrails added.
At the gristmill, master timber framers have replaced or repaired damaged beams, rafters, roof plates, collar ties and floorboards. The entire structure has been squared up, and a new cedar shingle roof, laid atop a high-tech snow and ice shield set on pine board sheathing, should be fully installed by year end to replace the failing plywood and asphalt shingle roof.
In the course of these repairs we made some major discoveries. What we suspected was a lift for the waterwheel turned out to be an upside down cider press. Wooden gears that we thought were inoperable still interlock and turn. Once lubricated, an 18th century swivel crane lifted and repositioned the grain hopper as easily as the millers must have done nearly 225 years ago.
How have we paid for all this? We are a not-for-profit organization established in 2013. When we took title to the 17-acre historic mill and bird sanctuary in 2019, we received a $200,000 foundational grant from The Nature Conservancy. In 2020, we were awarded a $97,000 matching grant from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation. And since our group’s inception, we have raised from board members, friends and neighbors, more than $100,000.
Looking ahead, we have three ambitious goals in mind:
Repairing and re-armoring the bulkhead that protects the mill. The bulkhead was built in the 1980s and is reaching the end of its useful life;
Devising and implementing a sustainable solution for vegetation on the cobble surface of the repaired dam that will withstand frequent salt-water overtopping; and
Developing a program to share this time capsule and window into 18th century life and technology with the public.
The progress we have made is remarkable. Can you help us with either time or money? If you would like to be involved, please contact me. We have no staff, so there is plenty to do. Thank you. Stay warm and safe, and Happy Holidays.