Cocalico Creek Watershed - Mills of Lancaster County

This is a list of water-powered grist mills in the Cocalico Creek watershed in Lancaster County Pennsylvania.

The watershed includes several tributaries. You can jump to them directly with the following links:

Cocalico Creek
Little Cocalico Creek
Middle Creek
Hammer Creek

The mills are listed in order by water flow.

Cocalico Creek

The Cocalico Creek is a tributary of the Conestoga River. It begins in Millcreek Township, Lebanon County and flows for 27 miles until it joins the Conestoga in West Earl Township, Lancaster County. The Cocalico Creek watershed drains an area of 140 square miles. The name is derived from the Lenape word “Gookcalicunk” which means “snake dens”.

Name	AKA	Disposition	Built	Type	Water Source
Cocalico		Site	c1803	Flour, Grist, Saw	Cocalico Creek
Highland	Bechtel’s	Business	1840	Flour, Grist, Saw, Cider	Harnish Run
Boyer’s	Ulrich’s	Business	1900	Flour, Grist, Saw, Cider	Harnish Run
Blue Lake		Site	c1800	Flour, Grist	Cocalico Creek
Greenville		Residence	c1864	Flour, Grist, Saw	Cocalico Creek
Bear’s	Denver Flour Mill	Venue	1807	Flour, Grist, Saw	Cocalico Creek
Commercial		Site	c1814	Grist	Cocalico Creek
Bucher’s	Reddig’s	Bridge	c1817	Flour, Grist	Cocalico Creek
Wabash		Site	c1810	Flour, Grist, Saw	Cocalico Creek
Cocalico Roller Mill		Site	c1824	Flour, Grist	Cocalico Creek
Indiantown	Stober’s	Site	c1823	Flour, Grist, Saw	Indian Run
Moyer’s	Upper Cloister	Site	c1870	Grist, Saw	Cocalico Creek
Cloister Lower	Wenger’s	Storage	1868	Flour, Grist, Saw	Cocalico Creek
Keller’s	Rettew’s / Akron Roller Mill	Bridge	c1814	Flour, Grist	Cocalico Creek
Akron		Farm	1762	Grist	Cocalico Creek
Fahnestock		Site	c1824	Flour, Grist	Cocalico Creek
Smith’s		Site	Pre 1824	Grist	Cocalico Creek
Sensenig’s	Zook’s Woolen Factory	Site	1820	Grist	Cocalico Creek
Rose Hill	Zook’s	Site	c1900	Grist	Cocalico Creek

Little Cocalico Creek

The Little Cocalico originates in Spring Township, Berks County. It flows into West Cocalico Township, Lancaster County north-east of Reinholds. It joins the main branch of the Cocalico just south of the Borough of Denver

Name	AKA	Disposition	Built	Type	Water Source
Galen Hall	Binkley’s	Storage	1910	Grist, Saw, Cider	Little Cocalico Creek
Reinholdsville		Site	c1840	Flour, Grist, Saw, Cider	Little Cocalico Creek
Fairview	Gerhart’s	Site	c1825	Flour, Grist	Little Cocalico Creek
Vera Cruz		Site	Pre 1864	Flour, Grist, Cider	Harnish Run

Middle Creek

Middle Creek is a 15.5-mile-long tributary of the Cocalico Creek. This places it in the Conestoga River watershed. Middle creek originates in Lebanon County near Kleinfeltersville. The stream enters Lancaster County in Clay Township where the creek is dammed to form the Middle Creek Reservoir, famous for the Snow Geese migration each spring. The Middle Creek joins the Cocalico in Ephrata Township.

Name	AKA	Disposition	Built	Type	Water Source
Dreisch’s		Site	1864	Grist, Saw	Middle Creek
Durlach	Eberly’s	Site	c1774	Flour, Grist	Middle Creek
Eagle	Hopeland	Site	c1755	Flour, Grist, Boring	Middle Creek
Furnace Run		Site	c1777	Grist	Furnace Run
Clay	Eberly’s	Business	1875	Flour, Grist, Saw	Middle Creek
Wissler’s	Lincoln	Storage	1843	Flour, Grist	Middle Creek
Witter’s		Site	Pre 1864	Grist	Middle Creek
Stoner’s		Site	c1814	Grist	Middle Creek

Hammer Creek

The Hammer Creek is a 19.2-mile-long tributary of the Cocalico Creek. This places it in the Conestoga River watershed. It originates in Lebanon County and enters Lancaster County in Elizabeth Township just north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. A dam on the Hammer Creek forms the Speedwell Forge Lake. It joins the Cocalico near Rothsville. The Hammer Creek was named for the sound of the iron forge hammers that could be heard along the valley emanating from the three forges in the Furnace Hills.

Name	AKA	Disposition	Built	Type	Water Source
Speedwell		Site	c1817	Flour, Grist	Hammer Creek
Zartman’s	Brubaker’s	Storage	c1775	Flour, Grist, Saw	Hammer Creek
Snavely’s	Willow Bank	Milling	1850	Flour, Grist	Hammer Creek
Brunnerville		Residence	c1859	Flour, Grist, Saw	Hammer Creek
Sunnyside		Site	c1817	Flour, Grist, Saw	Hammer Creek
Becker’s Chopping Mill		Site	Pre 1864	Grist	Hammer Creek
Buch’s	Erb’s	Site	c1820	Flour, Grist, Saw, Cider	Hammer Creek
Becker’s		Site	c1820	Grist, Distillery	Trib. of Hammer Creek
Millway		Abandoned	1832	Flour, Grist	Hammer Creek

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