The Mills at Scudder's Mills

Gray's Mill, pre-1906, looking east. Courtesy of Esther Engelke.

The historic West Windsor/Plainsboro community of Scudder's Mills grew up around its namesake mills (all on the Plainsboro side) in the 1700s. Although demolished centuries ago, these several structures, the district's lifeblood, have well-documented and storied histories.

Historical Overview

The historic West Windsor/Plainsboro community of Scudder's Mills, centered around the confluence of the Millstone River and Stony Brook (now Carnegie Lake) began to grow after its first mills were built in the mid-1700s. Back then, the Millstone River - so named because of the abundance of mills its water flow powered - was significantly narrower, meandering through meadowland as a mid-sized creek rather than the pond-like reservoir it is today.

The first mills in Scudder's Mills are believed to have been built by Josiah Davison between 1737, when he bought about 100 acres from his brother, Daniel Brinton Davison,[1] and 1749, when he sold the property to Jacob Scudder of Long Island for 1,400 pounds. In those early years, the tract contained two grist mills (for grinding grain into flour), a fulling mill (to clean, strengthen, and process woolen cloth), and mill houses. Its boundaries also encompassed the present-day properties of the adjacent Millwright's House, Gray House, Barn, Cudgel House, George Williamson House and store, Stone House, Elbert Williamson House, Blacksmith's Shop, and Wheelwright's/Painter's Shop (although many of those buildings were presumably built much later).[2] These combined properties are hereafter referred to as the "Great Mill Tract" for the purpose of this article.

According to Francis Bazley Lee, Jacob later "added another tract, lying above these mills ... and on this was located (yet another) mill erected in former times by Isaac Fitz Randolph" ... "[Jacob] was a man of generous spirit, and a liberal contributor to the First Presbyterian Church of Princeton, in the establishment of which he took a foremost part."[3]

Extent of the Great Mill Tract in the mid-1800s.

After Jacob died in 1772, his son, William, inherited the Great Mill Tract.[4],[5] Bazley Lee described him as "a man of distinction and influence in his day, and was one of the founders and principal supporters in 1763-64 of the First Presbyterian Church of Princeton."[6] William was also a Lieutenant Colonel in the Third Infantry Regiment of the Middlesex County militia during the Revolutionary War. Initially commissioner as a Captain in 1775, he fought in the Battle of Monmouth (1778) and Battle of Springfield (1780).[7] In 1782, he submitted a claim to the colonial government for destruction to his properties by the British in 1776 (when they were occupying Princeton). He listed a loss of one grist mill, a "Fullery House and Mill Press, House, and all the Apparatus for finishing Cloth," which, alongside other damages, amounted to £1,188.60.[8] However, William reconstructed the fulling mill by 1786, when it was advertised in the New Jersey Gazette for rent to "a good workman who can be well recommended for his sobriety, honesty, and industry."[9]

​Presumably after William died in 1793,[10] the Great Tract passed to his son, Isaac.[11] According to an advertisement in the Trenton Federalist on May 29, 1809, a man named John McDonald had rented the fulling mill from "Cooley and Scudder" for several years by that point, specializing in "carding" (straightening) wool.[12]

Isaac died around 1833 or 1834,[13] and three years later an advertisement appeared in the Princeton Whig for the Great Mill Tract, including 100 acres, a grist mill, saw mill, house, and store. The advertisement lauded the Millstone River as a "never failing stream of water," fine woodland, and the mill's proximity to Route 1, the Delaware and Raritan Canal, and the soon-to-be-constructed Camden and Amboy Railroad line on the canal's eastern bank.[14] The eventual buyer was William Scudder - Isaac's son[15] - via two deeds in 1837[16] and 1839.[17]

A mill at Scudder's Mill, 1905 or later. From Esther Engelke.

In 1841, the property finally left Scudder hands when it was purchased by Cornelius Cruser.[18] It then passed to Peter and Elizabeth DeGraw in 1853,[19] to Gustavus and Martha Conover that same year,[20] and to Cornelius S. Hoagland in 1855.[21] Along the way, the a house and blacksmith shop abutting Route 1 were sold to Elbert Williamson in 1853.[22]

In 1856, Dr. Azariah Hunt and his wife, Harriet, Hunt purchased the mill and most (if not all) other previously-mentioned structures.[23] Although the number of mills in existence at this point is uncertain, Azariah is said to have torn down at least one and built a new one in its place.[24] In 1861, the property, perhaps containing a sawmill and grist mill,[25] passed to Peter Onderdonk,[26] and five years later to Alexander Gray and his wife, Jane B. Russel.[27] The Grays lived here for the next several decades. This included Alexander's and Jane's son, Benjamin, who purchased the Great Mill Tract in 1885,[28] and Isabella (Benjamin's sister), who acquired most of the structures in 1887.[29] Another mill - a cider mill operated by C. H. McDonald - existed in Scudder's Mills close to around this time as well, although this may have been on a nearby property instead.[30]

James C. Engelke is said to have been the last to operate the grist mill.[31] Some time in its final years it was also briefly used to manufacture ice.[32] It presumably stopped operating around 1905/6​, when Carnegie Lake's construction flooded the Millstone River and bisected the Scudder's Mills community.[33] The mill was left to deteriorate, and it seems to have been demolished before 1930.[34]

Millers at Scudder's Mills, date unknown. From the Historical Society of Princeton.

Go to Scudder's Mills

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Bibliography

1. Davison, Daniel Brinton, Davison, Josiah, . “Indenture.” Middlesex County, 1737. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, East Jersey deeds Volume E2, Folio 98.
2. Davison, Josiah, Davison, Mary, Scudder, Jacob. “Indenture.” Middlesex County, 1749. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County deed Book 3, Page 304.
3. Lee, Francis Bazley. Genealogical and Personal Memorial of Mercer County, New Jersey. Lewis Publishing Company, 1907.
4. Scudder, Jacob. “Abstract of the Will of Jacob Scudder of New Brunswick, Middlesex County.” Trenton, New Jersey: New Jersey State Archives, June 30, 1771. This will was proved on July 25, 1772 - Lib. K, page 458 in the New Jersey State Archives.
5. “Aqueduct.” Essay. In Old Princeton’s Neighbors. Princeton, NJ: Graphic Arts Press , 1939. Written by the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Writers’ Project.
6. Lee, Francis Bazley. Genealogical and Personal Memorial of Mercer County, New Jersey. Lewis Publishing Company, 1907.ac
7. Farlee, George Reading. “Application for Membership - Connecticut Society of Sons of the American Revolution,” December 7, 1909. George listed himself as the great-grandson of William Scudder and Sarah Vandyke. The application lists William's service. It was examined and approved on December 7, 1809, and accepted by the Connecticut Society of Sons of the American Revolution's Board of Management on January 11, 1909. The ?Certificate of Membership was delivered on March 31, 1909. The applicant's National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution National No. is 20323.
8. Scudder, William, and Benjamin Oppie. “Revolutionary War Damage Claim - William Scudder.” Windsor Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey., October 19, 1782. William Scudder's claim for compensation for damages may by the British on December 31, 1776. Vouched for by Benjamin Oppie. This claim was made on October 19, 1782. Found in the New Jersey State Archives index of Revolutionary War Damage Claims, 1776-1783 - Claim Book B, page 235.
9. William Scudder. (1786, March 3) "A Fulling-Mill." New Jersey Gazette.
10. Scudder, Jacob. “Abstract of the Will of Jacob Scudder of New Brunswick, Middlesex County.” Trenton, New Jersey: New Jersey State Archives, December 6, 1793, Lib. 33, page 230. The inventory was documented by Garret Schenck and John Schenck, Jr. on November 22, 1793 - File 8271-8276L in the New Jersey State Archives.
11. Gulick, William, McDoiwell, George J., Schenck, John C., Scudder, William. “Indenture.” South Brunswick, 1839. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County deed Book 34 Page 359.
12. Cooley & Scudder. (1809, May 29) "Wool-Carding." Trenton Federalist.
13. Scudder, Isaac. “Will of Isaac Scudder of the Township of South Brunswick, County of Middlesex, and State of New Jersey.” South Brunswick, New Jersey, January 23, 1833. Located in the New Jersey State Archives. It was further signed by Eli F. Cooley on March 11, 1834.​
14. William Gulick, John C. Schenck, and George T. McDowell. (1836, November 259) "Valuable Mill Property At Auction." Princeton Whig.
15. Scudder, Isaac. “Will of Isaac Scudder of the Township of South Brunswick, County of Middlesex, and State of New Jersey.” South Brunswick, New Jersey, January 23, 1833. Located in the New Jersey State Archives. It was further signed by Eli F. Cooley on March 11, 1834.​
16. Gulick, William, McDowell, George J., Schenck, John C., Scudder, William. “Indenture.” South Brunswick, 1837. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County deed Book 34 Page 362.
17. Gulick, William, McDowell, George J., Schenck, John C., Scudder, William. “Indenture.” South Brunswick, 1839. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County deed Book 34 Page 359.
18. Cruser, Cornelius C., Scudder, William. “Indenture.” South Brunswick, 1841. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County deed Book 34 Page 362.
19. Bayles, William G., DeGraw, Elizabeth, DeGraw, Peter, Van Dyke, Simon, Voorhees, Garret G. “Indenture.” South Brunswick, 1853. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County deed Book 61 Page 572.
20. Conover, Gustavus A., Conover, Martha, DeGraw, Elizabeth, DeGraw, Peter. “Indenture.” South Brunswick, 1853. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County deed Book 62 Page 320.
21. Conover, Gustavus A., Hoagland, Catharine Martha, Hoagland, Cornelius S. “Indenture.” South Brunswick, 1855. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County deed Book 81 Page 190.
22. Conover, Gustavus A., Williamson, Albert S. “Indenture.” South Brunswick, 1853. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Book 63 Page 6.
23. Hoagland, Catharine Martha, Hoagland, Cornelius S., Hunt, Azariah P., Hunt, Harriet. “Indenture.” South Brunswick, 1856. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County deed Book 75, Page 638.
24. “Aqueduct.” Essay. In Old Princeton’s Neighbors. Princeton, NJ: Graphic Arts Press , 1939. Written by the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Writers’ Project.
25. J. V. D. Kelly. (1861, October 18) "Take Notice!" Princeton Standard.
26. Hunt, Azariah P., Hunt, Harriet, Onderdonk, Peter C. “Indenture.” South Brunswick, 1861. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County deed Book 87 Page 189.
27. Gray, Alexander, Onderdonk, Peter C. “Indenture.” South Brunswick, 1866. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County deed Book 103 Page 249.
28. Dickerson, S. Meredith, Gray, Benjamin. “Indenture.” South Brunswick, 1885. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County deed Book 203 Page 225.
29. Gray, Benjamin, Gray, Isabella. “Indenture.” South Brunswick, 1887. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County deed Book 211 Page 382.
30. "On Tuesday night last the cider mill of C. H. McDonald, at Aqueduct Mills, near Princeton, was entered by thieves, who stole three large copper pipes or still caps, a gallon measure, funnels, and other articles, in all valued at about $300." Princeton Press. August 27, 1881.
31. Williamson, Ida Louise. “Broadside,” 1987. From the Spring & Summer 1987 "Broadside" newsletter, published by the Historical Society of West Windsor. The specific article is titled "The Aqueduct Story" and is a follow-up to the newsletter's Fall & Winter 1986 publication.
32. Ibid.
33. “Aqueduct.” Essay. In Old Princeton’s Neighbors. Princeton, NJ: Graphic Arts Press , 1939. Written by the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Writers’ Project.
34. "West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 1920.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 1930.