Main Sawmill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Main Sawmill
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Main Sawmill in 2014
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 Location in Connecticut
Location in the United States
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| Location | 175 Iron Street, Ledyard, Connecticut |
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| Area | 11.6 acres (4.7 ha) |
| Built | 1869 |
| Architectural style | vertical sawmill |
| NRHP reference No. | 72001332 |
| Added to NRHP | April 26, 1972 |
The Main Sawmill, also known as the Ledyard Up-Down Sawmill, is a historic building in Ledyard, Connecticut. It was built in 1869 by Israel Brown. This sawmill is special because it's the only one of its kind still working in Connecticut! It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Today, the town owns it. A local history group runs it as a museum. You can visit it to see how wood was cut a long time ago.
What the Sawmill Looks Like
The Main Sawmill is in a quiet, countryside area of Ledyard. It sits next to a pond in Sawmill Park. The building is made of wood. It has a pointed roof. Its sides are covered with vertical wooden boards.
To cut wood, logs are rolled into a wide opening at the front. Inside, the logs are placed on special carts. These carts move the log towards a saw that cuts up and down. A big iron water turbine powers the saw. This turbine uses water from the pond to spin. It connects to the saw with belts and wheels. Most of these parts are original. The sawmill worked commercially from 1869 until 1935.
A Look Back in Time: The Sawmill's Story
People have been cutting wood here for a very long time. The first sawmill on this spot was built around the 1790s. Nathaniel Brown II and Increase B. Stoddard built it. In 1805, Philip Gray bought the mill. He also built a dam on a nearby pond. Gray sold the mill in 1831.
The sawmill you see today was built in 1869 by Israel Brown. It uses a special "up-and-down sash saw." In 1887, Brown gave the mill and water rights to William Leeds Main. The sawmill kept running until 1935.
The Town of Ledyard bought the mill in 1966. They wanted to create Sawmill Park. Volunteers worked for nine years to fix the buildings and the dam. The sawmill was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 26, 1972. The park and mill opened to the public on April 19, 1975.
