Keystone At Harrisville

[Teegate]

I was reading old Beck newspaper articles and saw this concerning the grist mill. There is a map in the article showing the grist mill across the street from the home of Richard Harris. The grist mill is the building shown in my below photo showing me there in 1975. You can see the keystone location.

June 22, 1930

Opposite the Richard Harris mansion, which contained 11 large rooms and was often the favorite haunt of Henry Carey, was a grist mill. The building from which the keystone had been stolen was burned before the fire that swept the town out of existance.


If it is true that the keystone was stolen before the big fire, it would be interesting to know if the newer bricks in my photo were put in before or after the big fire, maybe to protect the integrity of the structure?

 

[Teegate]

BTW, the fence was not there in 1973 but there was a snow fence. So sometime between 1973 and the development of the above photo in August 1975 it was built.

 

[GermanG]

Was that chain link fence removed since your photo? The only such fence at the site surrounds the factory, not the gristmill ruins, which are on the other (Northeast) side of Rt 679. Also, what is left of the gristmill walls were nowhere near that high when I first visited the site in the early 80s. I could be wrong, but I'm thinking your photo is of the factory.

 

[Teegate]

I was just going by the map in the article. I can't post it for copyright reasons. I will have to find the book I have and confirm.

 

[GermanG]

This is a photo I took of what's left of the gristmill perhaps 15-20 years ago. The street separating the gristmill and the Harris mansion is now a barely discernible, overgown path in the woods, not the current paved road.

Now McCarty's home was on the other side of the paved road from the gristmill, and on the same side as the factory. I remember reading about someone living in that house during the Harris era, perhaps one of the Harrises, which would explain that home being indicated on Beck's map as on the other side of the paved street from the gristmill. That is assuming the new road existed at the time of Beck's visit.

 

[Teegate]

I sent you a private message German and sent the map.

 

[woodjin]

The grist mill is actually directly opposite the general store. The Harris Mansion is more opposite the small sawmill that was just downstream of the gristmill. Guy’s photo is of the factory. There is some controversy about location of the McCarty mansion. Most people believing that it was opposite the factory. There are some existing mulberry trees in that area that McCarty planted for his silk worm venture. So it tends to add up.

 

[woodjin]

I’ve been conducting the Harrisville tour for the Pinelands Commission for like the past eight years or something so anything new definitely keep me updated.Lol

 

[woodjin]

Beck’s recollection of the proximity of the gristmill is generally true as the general store and the Harris Mansion were very close to each other.