The Sunrise Mill is an historic

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

complex that is located near Schwenksville in Upper Frederick Township,

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Montgomery County, colloquially referred to as Montco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 856,553, making it the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania after Philadel ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

History and architectural features

This complex includes a grist mill with an attached

saw mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

. Built circa 1767, it was enlarged in 1819. The complex also includes a farmhouse that was built circa 1828 and a Swiss

bank barn A bank barn or banked barn is a style of barn which is accessible from the ground, on two separate levels. Often built into the side of a hill or bank, the upper and the lower floors could both be accessed from the ground, one area at the top of ...

that was erected in 1795. The grist mill originally operated using an internal waterwheel system that ran off the adjacent Swamp Creek, before converting to turbine power after 1870. The property also includes a mill dam that was reconstructed in 1891, a mill race, and a stone

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its structural load, loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either si ...

that was built circa 1845. The property was later owned by Dr.

Chevalier Jackson Chevalier Quixote Jackson (November 4, 1865 – August 16, 1958) was an American pioneer in laryngology. He is sometimes known as the "father of endoscopy", although Philipp Bozzini (1773–1809) is also often given this sobriquet. Chevalier Q. J ...

(1865-1958), an internationally known physician and specialist in

laryngology Laryngology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders, diseases and Trauma (medicine), injuries of the larynx, colloquially known as the voice box. Laryngologists treat disorders of the larynx, including diseases that affects the voice, swa ...

, who lived at Sunrise from 1919 until his death in 1958. Dr. Jackson established a workspace inside the grist mill where, using power generated by the mill to run a

lathe A lathe () is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, threading and turning, with tools that are applied to the w ...

, he invented, more than two hundred different medical instruments for use in laryngeal surgery. Dr. Jackson also kept an art studio in the grist mill, where he painted nature scenes of the surrounding area. In 1977, the Sunrise Mill complex 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 ...

. The site is now owned and operated by the

Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Montg ...

Division of Parks, Trails, and Historic Sites. It is currently undergoing a restoration project n order to be opened to the public as a history site.“Sunrise Mill,” Parks, Trails, and Historic Sites, Montgomery County, PA. https://www.montcopa.org/Sunrise-Mill. Retrieved June 8, 2021.

References

External links

Montgomery County Department of Parks and Heritage Services: Sunrise Mill
{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Grinding mills on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Industrial buildings completed in 1819 Grinding mills in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Upper Frederick Township, Pennsylvania