Lawrence Brook Mill
| Lawrence Brook Mill | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Built | 1769 (earliest documentation) |
| Location | Milltown, NJ |
| Industry | Flour grinding, rubber manufacturing, textile manufacturing. |
| Products | Flour, rubber, textiles |
| Defunct | around 1935 |
The Lawrence Brook Mill, formerly Bergen's Mill is a closed gristmill located in Milltown, NJ. It is made up of a fulling mill, a press house, a water tower, a chimney, and various worker dwellings.
History
In 1769, Fulcard Van Nordstrand advertised the sale of the gristmill possibly after its completion. (The oldest documentation of a mill in Milltown.) The mill was sold eight years later by Ferdinand Schuurman, in which a couple of his relatives are captured by British forces, however he is not captured. He dies a year later and the mill is given to his wife, Eleanor Schuurman, and his son, Abraham Schuurman.
In 1789, Abraham sells the mill to Tunis Quick of Hunterdon County, which gets sold four years later to Nicholas Van Bundt, who builds the fulling mill. Van Brundt sells the mill to John Bennett the following year, whom sells it to Christian Van Nortwick a year later, whom leases it Timothy Enixon the following year. The mill gets acquired by Jacob Bergen in 1811, who names it, Bergen's Mill. In 1812, Bergen constructs a new fulling mill and a
press house, which he advertises his services. In his advertisement, he becomes the first to call the surrounding settlement "Milltown." He dies 24 years later, in which his family resumes the mill's production.
In 1843, a fire ceases operation and the mill becomes acquired by Christopher Meyer, forming the Meyer Rubber Company; the mill becomes a factory. Even though the structure received repairs, another fire destroys the factory and Meyer's home two years later, but the factory becomes financed by John R. Ford and is renamed Ford & Co. Yet in 1851, another fire destroys the factory. The factory is rebuilt the following year and the issuance of stocks makes the Ford Rubber Company. Six years later, the factory is renamed the Meyer Rubber Company again with Christopher Meyer as the president.
But in 1896, the factory stops production. The India Rubber Company operated the factory from 1897–1906; it becomes succeeded by the International Rubber Company. The factory gets taken over by Michelin Tire Company in 1907, many of the buildings that make up the mill were made during that year.[1] In 1919, Michelin builds 53 homes (which would soon be 200) in Milltown, which would soon make it its own community. During the company's peak year, Michelin would employ over 2000 workers. Michelin soon left in 1930 due to the Great Depression, a few companies (Heidingsfield Printing Company, Algro Knitting Mills, and Alphaduct Wire) subsequently used the factory during this time. But shortly afterward, the factory permanently retired.