Category: Township Committee

A History of Headquarters Mill

A few years ago, I wrote articles for the township newsletter, The Bridge, while holding the position of Township Historian. When Charles Frischman became Township Historian he took over the job of writing a regular column for the newsletter. When I stopped writing, I was working on a series about the mills of Delaware Township. The next mill in the series was to be the mill in the village of Headquarters, known variously over the years as Opdycke’s Mill, Tyson’s Mill, Holcombe’s Mill, Conover’s Mill, Carrell Mill and Headquarters Mill.

Now that The Post is up and running, it seemed like a good time to finish that series on the Mills of Delaware Township. Another good reason to do this is the effort being made by members of the …

Delaware Township Mills in the 19th Century

Mill Owners and Operators

The earliest mill owners were millers themselves. But the more successful the mill, the more help was needed to run it. Millers hired laborers or indentured servants, and it was fairly common for millers to own one or two slaves. In the 1780s, there were about 50 slaves in Amwell Township, many of them owned by millers. In Delaware Township, Samuel Opdycke owned the mill that later was known as Sergeant’s Mill. His slave was named Robbin and was bequeathed to him in his father’s will, written in 1777. When Robbin died, he was buried on the hillside near the mill. Other early mill owners of Delaware Township who might have owned slaves were Peter Rittenhouse and his son Elisha, Charles Woolverton and his son John, …