Here are some links to follow for information about the Saddle Rock Grist Mill and efforts to preserve it.
Information from the Tide Mill Institute
For a webquest designed for school children to learn about the Saddle Rock Grist Mill, and tidal mills in general click here.
Click here for additional pictures with captions.
And here are a few really good articles about the state of the grist mill and preservation efforts. Please click here for a December 2014 article.
and here for Karen Rubin's 2015 column on preservation.
The October 2017 Issue of Early American Life included a terrific article about Tidal Grist Mills. Saddle Rock Grist Mill is one of just a few in the world!! There is lots of information about the Mill and some timely pictures in that issue. They do not put their articles online, so see it in your local library.
GREAT NECK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Flash News! There is finally some movement! The county has received a small grant to stabilize the Mill! AND the Historical Society has been invited to present at a Tide Mill Conference on April 7. Look for details, when we have them, on the Event page.
Saddle Rock Grist Mill
The Saddle Rock Grist Mill was constructed in the early 1700s. One of the few remaining tidal mills, it was used to grind corn and wheat that was grown on the area farms. We know that it passed from Robert Hubbs to Henry Allen, and then was eventually purchased by the Udall family. Inherited by Louise Udall Skidmore Eldridge, it was given to the Nassau Historical Society upon her death, and then passed to the ownership of Nassau County. The County operated it as a living museum for a time, and many school children were able to see how a grist mill works first hand. The Mill has deteriorated greatly, and is in need of tender loving care and financial aid to get it back on its feet. We are working to influence the County to seek the funding for those repairs.
Sadly, these pictures of the interior of the Grist Mill were taken on Feb 21, 2018. Things are looking terribly, but at least Nassau County is aware of the problem, and seems to be beginning on the path of stabilization, if not restoration.