Webbs Mills, New York facts for kids

Webbs Mills, also called Webb Mills, is a small area in Chemung County, in the state of New York. It got its name from the Webb family, who ran important mills there. Mills are places where things like grain are ground into flour.

Exploring Webbs Mills History

Early Days and the Webb Family

The first mills in Webbs Mills were built in 1835. A man named Hezekiah Dunham built them on a stream called Seeley Creek. Later, a person named Festus Webb bought the land. The Webb family then made the mills much bigger and better. They added more grinding machines to the original two.

The Plank Road Connection

In the 1800s, a man named Henry Marvin lived in Webbs Mills. He kept a special diary about his life there. This diary was later published as a book called The Plank Road Explorer. The book talks about the Plank Road. This was a special road that went from Elmira all the way to the Pennsylvania state line. It was called a "plank road" because its surface was made of strong wooden planks. People had to pay a small fee, called a toll, to use this road. Henry Marvin was also the great-grand-uncle of a famous actor named Lee Marvin.