LANTERMAN’S MILL HISTORY | 1797-2010

A time line of Mill Creek Park’s historic landmark:

1797: Isaac Powers and Phineas Hill purchase the 300 acres surrounding the falls from Youngstown-founder John Young to build a saw- and gristmill.

1823: A new gristmill is built at the same site by Eli Baldwin.

1843: A flood washes away the gristmill. A grinding stone from this mill can still be seen resting in the creek bed 500 feet downstream of the falls.

1845-46: The current frame structure is built by German Lanterman and his brother-in-law Samuel Kimberly. The mill was originally believed to be powered by an overshot wheel (the type used today), but was later converted to turbines prior to its closing in 1888.

1888: The mill closes.

1892: The mill stands in a state of disrepair until purchased by Mill Creek Park. As an early park facility, the building has a ballroom, a concession stand and bathhouse for swimmers until 1917.

1933: The first floor is converted into a nature museum.

1972: Becomes Mill Creek Park’s historical museum.

1976: Entered in the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

1982: The renovation of Lanterman’s Mill begins. With no historical records or original blueprints, an archeological dig is organized by Dr. John White, professor of anthropology at Youngstown State University. Valuable artifacts and the location of the original raceway prove the existence of an earlier water wheel.

1982: Lorin Cameron and his sons, expert gristmill renovators, from Damascus, Ohio, are commissioned to tackle the complicated project.

1982: Lacking funding for the project, the Florence and Ward Beecher foundations make a $600,000 grant to the Mill Creek Park Foundation.

1982-83: The mill undergoes a complete structural face- lift. Footers and beams are replaced; connections reinforced; a new roof installed; new windows, doors, and siding complete the transformation.

1984-85: Exterior improvements include a new observation deck and walkways.

Source: Mill Creek Park