Oil Mill

Oil Mill (HMHZS)

Location: Bethlehem, PA 18018 Northampton County
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Country: United States of America
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N 40° 37.145', W 75° 22.978'

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Inscription

1765

"Notice is hereby given to the Public, that the new oil Mill at Bethlehem for rubbing Hemp will be a going before Christmas. But the new Oil Mill will not be finished till the Latter end of Januario or in Febr. next year 1766..."
Oil Mill Diary
December 12, 1765

Linseed oil was an important 18th century product. It was used in paint, wood preservatives, printing ink, and medicines. Bethlehem's first oil mill was built in 1745. It was replaced in 1752 with a larger structure that burned down in 1763. Construction for a new oil mill began in 1765.

The new oil mill was a multifunctional industry which demonstrated the ingenuity of Bethlehem's early tradesmen. It housed machinery to process linseed oil, crush tanbark, grind groats, make snuff, full leather, and soften hemp. The machinery was powered by two undershot waterwheels turned by the Monocacy Creek.

After the 1790s, many of the original oil mill industries had stopped operation. After 1814, only flour and snuff were produced. In 1832, the oil mill became the water pumping house for the community. Steam power was added in 1874 and the building was demolished in the 1930s.

The oil mill was town down in the 1930s as part of a Works Progress Administration project during the Depression.

[Marker is damaged]

Details

HM Number	HMHZS
Series	This marker is part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects series
Tags	Colonial Era, Industry and Commerce, Man Made Features, Natural Resources, Buildings, Settlements and Settlers, Waterways and Vessels
Placed By	Historic Bethlehem, HistoryWorks!, and Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor
Marker Condition	No reports yet
Date Added	Wednesday, October 8th, 2014 at 8:22pm PDT -07:00

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Locationbig map

UTM (WGS84 Datum)	18T E 467607 N 4496543
Decimal Degrees	40.61908333, -75.38296667
Degrees and Decimal Minutes	N 40° 37.145', W 75° 22.978'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds	40° 37' 8.70" N, 75° 22' 58.68" W
Driving Directions	Google Maps
Area Code(s)	267, 610, 484
Closest Postal Address	At or near 413 Main St, Bethlehem PA 18018, US
Alternative Maps	Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap