Hammond's Lost Mill

There was a gristmill downstream of Guilford Mill and upstream of Vollmerhausen Road almost 250 years ago.  The Baltimore historian and Maryland mollinographer John McGrain wrote that 

"Nathan Hammond advertised a mill "at Elkridge," 3 miles from Spurriers Tavern, 9 miles above the landing, on the road between Annapolis and Frederick, 2 miles from the road from Baltimore to the Federal City; the mill was 32 x 28 with 1 pair of stones, Md. Journal, December 11, 1795. Probably on Middle Patuxent." 

As it turns out, Hammond's Mill was just upstream the Vollmerhausen Road crossing along the Little Patuxent River.

As you walk, bike or run along the Patuxent Branch trail upstream of Vollmerhausen Road imagine that a gristmill powered by a mill race and dam was still operating along the river. With a 25 foot drop of the river upstream of I95 down towards Vollmerhausen I can imagine using that water power starting with a dam and a mill race, but where were they located? I see so many possibilities along that stretch of river that I wonder if an accumulation of stones here and there could have been part of a dam, or side channels in the river part of the mill race. So far there are no records of exactly where the gristmill, dam or mill race were located – so if you have any ideas as you enjoy the trail please share them.

In the 1770s, there was a gristmill a little more than a mile downstream of the Guilford Mill that had a mill dam, mill race, and a mill building with mill stones that used iron gears. The mill used a 25 foot drop in elevation to power it with the river water through a mill race, and it operated under a partnership between John Hammond, Charles Greenbury Ridgely, and Benjamin Griffith who patented that portion of the Little Patuxent River in 1771. The mill continued until at least 1797 and the mill seat was sold in 1832 to the Savage Manufacturing Company.

There is no record of Commodore Joshua Barney being involved with this mill although his residence was just up the hill from it. You can see the Barney house on the east hillside along the river downstream of the southbound I-95 bridge. We plan to create interpretive history signs with HoCo Rec and Parks along the trail to point out these sites and more.

Continue for more detailed information:

Much of Savage and Guilford were first surveyed in 1696 by Col. Henry Ridgely and was called Ridgely’s Forest. His grandson, also Col. Henry Ridgely inherited this land after his grandfather died in 1710 and began re-patenting his portion of Ridgely’s Forest. Harry’s Lott was surveyed in 1732 and patented in 1734 for 702 acres. Col. Henry died in 1749 and left Harry’s Lott to his son, Charles Greenbury Ridgely, Sr.

In 1777, Charles Greenbury Ridgely, in partnership with Benjamin Griffith and John Hammond, used land along the Little Patuxent River upstream of present day Vollmerhausen Road to put in a dam, mill race, and a grist mill. In 1781, John Hammond sold his share to his son, Nathan. In 1792, after his father’s death, Charles Greenbury Ridgely, Jr. and his mother Sarah, sold their half-interest in the mill and land to Nathan Hammond, son of John Hammond, giving Nathan Hammond 2/3 interest in the mill and land.

In 1797, Nathan Hammond sold his interests in the mill and land to Philip Hammond Hopkins who in turn sold it to the Savage Manufacturing Company in 1832. In 1855, the Savage Manufacturing Company was selling some land and water power and included this land as Lot No. 15 which was described as “a MILL SEAT about Lot No. 14 where there was formerly a mill. There is attached to this seat about TWENTY-ONE ACRS OF LAND. The Company can show a paper title to only ½ f the Water Power belonging to this seat, although they own all of the land.” It seems that the patent of the waterway itself, called the Mill Seat in Partnership and patented by Benjamin Griffith in 1771 did not have a clear deed succession record.

When the mill was active, Nathan Hammond described it as “about a mile or more below the lower mills belonging to Richard Owings Esquire” [aka Guilford Mills] and contained a “Mill Dam, Mill stones, timbers, Mill Irons, wheels, Rolling Iron & Gears”* and was also sold “all and every article thing, tool and implement belonging to or appertaining to the said mill, dam, houses, race” and other materials.

Part of the land in the Griffith, Ridgely and Hammond partnership included the 9 acres of the Mill Seat in Partnership (see attached map), 9 acres on the east of that belonging to Harry’s Lott which would have given room for a mill race and mill, and 3 acres on the west side of the river which was part of Wincopin Neck that provided some room for the dam and mill pond on that side of the river. Since there have been no findings of any remains of this mill, our best guess is that it was built on the east side of the river along where the sewer lines were put in over the past several years. When you go down that way please share any other ideas of where the mill dam, mill race, and actual mill could have been.

The sources of information are based on several deeds found in the Maryland Land Records database. I maintain a copy of all of the documentation used to write up this post.