The Frankford Powder-Mill is a historic

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

factory in the Frankford neighborhood of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. At the time it was built in 1774 by Oswald Eve, it was the only such mill in the American colonies. Other powder mills operated in the 17th and 18th centuries but stopped production after the French and Indian war. Eve built his mill next to

Frankford Creek Frankford Creek is a minor tributary of the Delaware River in southeast Pennsylvania. It derived its name from today's Frankford, Philadelphia neighborhood. The stream originates as Tookany Creek at Hill Crest in Cheltenham Township and meander ...

, from which it drew its power. The building still stands but has long since been devoted to other uses.

Revolution

When in the following year

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

banned shipments of gunpowder to the colonies, Eve was left with a monopoly on the commodity. The mill was the first American

powder mill A powder mill was a mill where gunpowder is made from sulfur, saltpeter and charcoal. Milling steps Crude grinding and mixing operations such as the Frankford Powder-Mill of Philadelphia were a cottage industry until the Industrial Revolution ...

to supply the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. In November 1775

Paul Revere Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, military officer and industrialist who played a major role during the opening months of the American Revolutionary War in Massachusetts, ...

visited the mill to observe Eve's production methods. Before and during the early

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, the mill was operated by Eve, then by his son Oswald Eve, Jr. On January 11, 1776, the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

contracted the elder Eve to manufacture gunpowder for the Colonies at $8.00 per

hundredweight The hundredweight (abbreviation: cwt), formerly also known as the centum weight or quintal, is a British imperial and United States customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the United States customary and British imperial sy ...

. In the meantime, to secure gunpowder for its war efforts, Congress approved on February 16, 1776, a committee led by Clement Biddle and Captain Joseph Cowperthwaite to build the Continental Powder Mill. The Continental Mill was built on French Creek, four miles from Phoenixville, and eight miles from Valley Forge. With the uncertainty of Eve's alliances, eight additional mills, operated by private businessmen, were contracted by the Committee of Safety or the Continental Congress, to supplement the Continental Powder Mill and Frankford Mills. These mills had trouble securing raw materials, and the Continental Mill was destroyed by accidental explosion on March 10, 1777. The Frankford Mill continued production. By April 1777, Eve had delivered 25,000 pounds of powder to the state.

British capture

The British seized the mill in September 1777 when they entered Philadelphia. In 1778, the elder Eve was accused of clandestine dealings with the British and was convicted of treason by the

Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania The Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was the collective directorial system, directorial executive branch of the Pennsylvanian state government between 1777 and 1790. It was headed by a president and a vice president ...

, who confiscated all his property, including the mill. It later passed into the hands of John Decatur, father of Revolutionary War naval hero Stephen Decatur, Sr., then in 1806 to local war hero General Isaac Worrell.

Technology

Sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter was sifted and granulated. The raw ingredients required processing to obtain the necessary purity. A water-powered stamping mill helped bland the powder into rounded particles, which were then dried in a dry house.

Charles Willson Peale Charles Willson Peale (April 15, 1741 – February 22, 1827) was an American painter, military officer, scientist, and naturalist. In 1775, inspired by the American Revolution, Peale moved from his native Maryland to Philadelphia, where he set ...

recorded details of the mill.

References

{{coord missing, Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Philadelphia 1774 establishments in Pennsylvania History of Philadelphia Commercial buildings completed in 1774 Gunpowder mills