Visit to Miquon, PA

The Paper Mills at Trout Run, Pennsylvania
The Author's Visit to the Trout Run Area

Driving northwest on the Schuylkill Expressway (Interstate 76) from Philadelphia and north on Interstate 476, and exiting at Exit 7, I drove west on Ridge Pike, and turned right down Harts Lane which was a very narrow road, barely wide enough for two cars to pass in opposite directions. I was confident I knew exactly how to get to the Hamilton Mill based on information and maps researched on the Internet and from other sources . Both sides of the road were heavily wooded, the trees meeting overhead to form a canopy, with a minimal amount of light penetrating the growth overhead. I had been studying the area for two months since Ben Arnold tipped me to the Riverside Mill 1921 booklet. As I was driving along, I was viewing the sites from a historical perspective, and felt like a visitor from another time zone, actually resenting the beautiful modern homes and area, although they were my world. Hart lane dead headed at River Road. Turning left on River Road I passed a railroad station on the right side of the road and shortly encountered a barricade that said "Road Closed." Oh oh! My confidence eroded somewhat. Perhaps this wasn't going to be as easy as first thought. Returning to Ridge Pike and turning west to Manor Road it was a road very similar to Hart Lane. I proceeding down the steep winding road and under an overpass. I now saw what I thought was another train station directly ahead where Manor Road dead ends at River Road. Turning left on River Road, I encountered the same barricade: "Road Closed." Now frustrated and realizing that Hart Lane and Manor Road both dead ended at River Road, it looked like the mill site was unapproachable from this direction.

Returning back to the train station, it appeared to be occupied by a private business. Knocking and walking in, I was met by a lady and questioned her about the W. C. Hamilton Mill location, she replied, "You are a couple years late. The mill was torn down in 1998 and if you want to see what remains, look across the street." The "remains" was a rather large office complex of some type which I later discovered was River Park. The mill property had been purchased by a real estate developer who thought the brick work of the original mill attractive and renovated what was the paper mill finishing , storage and beater rooms as an office complex. I was disappointed not to see the mill but glad at least a portion of the mill was salvaged for history's sake.

After introducing my self to the lady as an amateur historian investigating the W. C. Hamilton & Sons Mill, she introduced herself as Penny Brodie. Later I met with her husband David who reported that he and Jenny operated a sign printing business out of the old station. Fortunately for me, both Jenny and David were very knowledgeable of the Hamilton Mill complex and general area and had no reservations about sharing his knowledge. David had some mill mementos and documents as well as a copy of the Riverside booklet of 1921. We browsed through this material and discussed the Hamilton mill complex. David said the original Lafayette Station was a small wooden building that is long gone and replaced by the present Miquon Station. Miquon Station was built in 1912 at the urging of W. C. Hamilton. David Brodie offered to show me around the mill complex and the surrounding country side. I quickly and gratefully took him up on the offer. We climbed into his truck for our tour.

We started driving east on River Road opposite Miquon Station.The photo at left is looking east towards Manor Road. Local lore and various documents indicate that William Penn did the original survey and projected the path of Manor Road. He named the road Manor Road intending to build a manor house overlooking the Schuylkill River. His wife however, had different plans wanting to build their manor home in the Delaware Valley. Penn's manor house was never built on Manor Road but William Penn returned frequently, driving his carriage the great distance from Philadelphia.

The area in the center of the above photo are ruins of one of the early paper machine foundations and the mill race. The early machines used water from Trout Run Creek. The stream flowed parallel to Manor Road, crossed under Manor Road to the mill site and under the mill chase ruins and then crossed under River Road to an out flow in the Schuylkill River. In later years the water from Trout Run became inadequate as the mill grew in size and water was later sourced from Bubbling Springs in Spring Hill and piped to the mill. at the foot of Joshua Road, east of here. At the time the mill closed in 1995 the springs were producing 2000 gallons of water per day..

Turning right and driving up Manor Road towards Ridge Pike, on the left side of Manor Road we sighted the ruins of an old horse stable. It was thought that Lafayette stabled his horse here on a visit to the area while staying at the mill residence during the Revolutionary War. Close by the stable are the remains of a an old cistern. David said that a stone was dropped down the cistern and waiting for the splash one got the feeling the bottom is a long way down.

Driving farther up Manor Road, we saw a stone house on the left side of the road. A stained glass header over the door reads 1773. It does not appear to be known for sure who originally built this house. In later years it was called Miquon House but in earlier times was referred to as the mill residence. In 1918 an onsite post office was added in the wing to the right of the mill residence. The postal authorities named the post office Miquon. In modern times, Penny Brodie was the post mistress until the post office closed. An interesting side bar about this house: When the mill complex was sold in 1998, the new owners were about to demolish the house. Penny Brodie is credited with saving the house from the wrecker ball and having it preserved as a historical building. According to the Hamilton Book of 1921 John Hagey built a residence on Manor Road in 1792 opposite the mill. His house was farther up the road a short distance on the same side as the mill residence but unfortunately no longer exists.

Continuing up Manor Road we did not know the gods were watching over us this day. It had been raining heavily during the night and early in the morning. David instructed me to look along the right side of the road for ruins of the dwellings built for mill workers in 1872. While looking I saw a large tree falling towards our truck. David Brodie was driving slowly but there was no time to warn him of what was happening. The tree crashed into the rear of the truck but fortunately hit a glancing blow with little damage. Yes, the gods were with us this day and we both resolved to say an extra prayer of thanks and perhaps have an "adult beverage" later in the evening to celebrate our good fortune..

Proceeding up Manor road we came to the intersection of Hagey and Manor Roads. The Hagey one room school house is reported to have been located about where the yellow pole is stuck in the ground. There is some confusion here. Farther up Hagy Road there were ruins reported as being the location of the Hagy residence. This is contradictory to the statement in the Hamilton Book of 1921 which says and quote, "A house built by John Hagey in 1792 still stands in a well preserved condition across Manor Road from our mill property. Further up the valley, he later built another mill and a dam for poser." Could the ruins on Hagey Road, in fact, be the remains of the mill mentioned?

Driving farther up Manor Road on the left we saw ruins of an old ice house. The water in the lower right of the photo is Trout Run. In the early years of the W. C. Hamilton & Sons mill, the mill used water from Trout Run. As the mill expanded, the water from Trout Run was inadequate for the mill needs. W. C. Hamilton negotiated a long term lease for the water from Bubbling Springs east of the mill site and had it piped to the mill.

If one continues up Manor Road to Pike Ridge and turns left, there is a historical maker on the right side of Ridge Pike. The marker reads, "On May 19-20, 1778, Lafayette, in his first independent command, occupied this position during reconnaissance with 2,000 troops, which were driven off by Howe's overwhelming British forces. On Howe's departure, Lafayette reoccupied Barren Hill until his recall to Valley Forge on May 23." A local story says that Lafayette stayed at the mill residence on Manor Road as a guest. Fact or rumor?

Turning around we drove down Manor Road to River Road and made a right turn traveling east to another section of River Park to see a large commercial building on the right side of the road. This building rests on the foundation of the W. C. Hamilton warehouse that was used for storage of paper products waiting to be shipped. In some areas of the building the original Hamilton warehouse foundation can be seen. According to the birds eye sketch of the mill complex in the Hamilton Book of 1921 the original Lafayette Station appears to be east of the present Miquon Station across the road from this building.

After returning to Miquon Station we stood with our backs to the station looking across River Road toward the remaining building of the W. C. Hamilton & Sons Mill that was converted as office space. David described the scene as it was before the mill was razed. The parking lots where cars are parked across River Road replaced many of the mill complex buildings. The power house was off to the far left. The main building that housed the paper machines and the machine foundation and mill race were in the center foreground running parallel to River Road. The water treatment plant was to the far right. Other buildings were scattered among the main buildings. Before these buildings were demolished the remaining building in the background that housed the finishing room, storage and the beaters could not be seen from River Road. We entered the converted mill building by the glass enclosed lobby at the center of the building to see if we could photograph remaining features of the paper mill.

The lower floor, among other things contained a large employee cafeteria. The photo at left shows the salad bar and service counter where a wide Varity of menu items are available. When comparing the structure from inside the cafeteria with the photo of the finishing room in the Riverside booklet of 1921 it is obvious they are one and the same. In the right photo we see our friend and guide, David Brodie negotiating the check for our lunch.

Many of the supports in the building are the original hand-hewn timbers of the mill. The timbers are supplemented with steel beams where required. The hand-hewn timbers have been stained and treated and make an attractive building support. In many areas the stone works of the original mill are in plain view and make an overall theme of a converted mill building pleasing to the eye.

An agitator from the beater room is displayed in one of the hallways leading to the offices. The agitator appears to have been chrome plated for preservation. The gentleman appearing in the photo is our friend, David Brodie.

After our tour of the mill complex we returned to Miquon Station to discuss what we had seen and other issues concerning the Hamilton Mill. This photo is the interior of the station where Penny and David Brodie conduct their sign business. The interior of the station has been meticulously preserved in it's original condition. The brass tag is one of only two baggage tags left that were used by the Philadelphia and Reading RR at Lafayette, PA.

Returning to the Miquon area a few days later, I had a long list of questions generated from my earlier visit. David Brodie again was gracious with his time and spent a few more hours reviewing the questions and information. I wish to thank Penny and David Brodie for their great assistance in this project. Their enthusiasm, good humor and appreciation of life around them is not often encountered. In the process of preparing this story, I have made two new friends that I admire. Click the layout at left to see a sketch of the mill complex as it appeared during our visits May 18th and 22nd, 2001. The layout plots the location of buildings and events discussed above during the Miquon visits

To visit the Brodie Sign printers website click here.

Return to The Paper Mills at Trout Run

This article researched and formatted for the Internet by Luigi Bagnato, May, 2000. Please direct comments to Luigi Bagnato

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