Jerusalem Mill Village is a

living history museum A living museum, also known as a living history museum, is a type of museum which recreates historical settings to simulate a past time period, providing visitors with an Experiential education, experiential Heritage interpretation, interpretatio ...

that spans the 18th through early 20th centuries. One of the oldest and most intact mill villages in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, Jerusalem is located in Harford County, along the Little Gunpowder Falls River. It also serves as the headquarters of the Gunpowder Falls State Park. The site was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on August 20, 1987. Also on the National Register of Historic Places and located nearby are Jericho Farm and the Jericho Covered Bridge.

History

The tract of land called Jerusalem was patented to Nicholas Hampstead and John Walley in 1687. By 1743, the tract had been acquired by an ironmaster, Stephen Onion, and had been enlarged to with several buildings. When Onion died in 1750, his nephew, Zacheas Barrett Onion, acquired the property. Onion engaged Isaiah Linton of Bucks County, Pennsylvania to come to Jerusalem to construct a merchant grist mill and to improve a nearby ironworks and several other mills. Linton was joined by his family and partner David Lee. He eventually built eight water-powered mills along the Little Gunpowder. The fourth mill, Jerusalem Mill, was completed in 1772 and is now the centerpiece of the living history village. The village functioned as a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

village into the early 20th century. Evidence suggests that David Lee and several of his Quaker neighbors carved black walnut stocks and assembled rifles for the Continental army in the gunshop that stands behind the gristmill. During the Civil War, on July 11, 1864, Confederate Army Major

Harry Gilmor Harry Ward Gilmor (January 24, 1838 – March 4, 1883) served as the Baltimore City Police Commissioner, head of the Baltimore City Police Department in the 1870s, and a Confederate cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ...

sent a cavalry unit to the general store in Jerusalem Mills, now popularly known as McCourtney's Store, capturing supplies and horses, as part of

Gilmor's Raid Gilmor's Raid, also known as The Magnolia Station Train Raid, was a foraging and disruptive cavalry raid that was part of an overall campaign against Union railroads, led by Maj. Harry W. Gilmor with 135 men from the First and Second Maryland C ...

. After the Civil War, the buildings in the village were gradually leased out and sold. A succession of owners operated the gristmill until 1961, when it was then purchased by the State of Maryland to be part of the Gunpowder Falls State Park. The historic buildings are being restored and preserved by Friends of Jerusalem Mill, an all-volunteer, non-profit, public charity, which has leased the village from the state of Maryland since 1986. Its current lease is valid through 2039. Restoration, preservation and maintenance efforts are funded almost entirely by donations, sponsorships, memberships, events and countless volunteer hours. Events include a living history program, concerts by the falls, jousting tournaments, vintage baseball, First Responders' Day, and a lot more. Efforts are currently underway to stabilize and preserve the Lee Family's historic Bank Barn, mansion and two-story springhouse-smokehouse. On April 10, 2016, a

Blue Star Memorial Highway Blue Star Memorial Highways are highways in the United States that are marked to pay tribute to the U.S. armed forces. The National Council of State Garden Clubs, now known as National Garden Clubs, National Garden Clubs, Inc., started the progra ...

marker was dedicated at Jerusalem Mill, honoring those who served in the U.S. armed forces.

Gallery

File:Jerusalem Mill Dec 09.JPG, Jerusalem Mill at Jerusalem Mill Village, December 2009 Image:Jerusalem Mill Village Marker Dec 09.JPG, Jerusalem Mill Village Marker, December 2009 Image:Jerusalem Mill Village Gun-Cooper Shop Dec 09.JPG, Jerusalem Mill Village-Gun/Cooper Shop, December 2009 Image:Jerusalem Mill Village Blacksmith Shop Dec 09.JPG, Jerusalem Mill Village-Blacksmith Shop, December 2009 Image:Jerusalem Mill Village McCourtney's Store Dec 09.JPG, Jerusalem Mill Village-McCourtney's Store, December 2009 Image:Jerusalem Mill Village Tenant Farmhouse Dec 09.JPG, Jerusalem Mill Village-Tenant Farmhouse, December 2009 Image:Jerusalem Mill Village Bank Barn Ruins Dec 09.JPG, Jerusalem Mill Village-Bank Barn Ruins, December 2009 Image:Jerusalem Mill Village Milestone Dec 09.JPG, Jerusalem Mill Village-Milestone, December 2009 File:Jerusalem Mills Village-Jerusalem Mill, August 2012.jpg, Jerusalem Mill at Jerusalem Mill Village, August 2012

References

External links

*, including photo from 2002 an
boundary map
Maryland Historical Trust website
Jerusalem Mill Village website
* {{Authority control Industrial buildings completed in 1772 Historic districts in Harford County, Maryland Living museums in Maryland Museums in Harford County, Maryland Mill museums in Maryland Historic American Buildings Survey in Maryland Quakerism in Maryland Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland National Register of Historic Places in Harford County, Maryland Grinding mills on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland