This is the list of the existing Lancaster County water-powered mills organized by watershed. A water-powered mill obviously cannot function without a reliable source of water. Mill sites were chosen according to the availability of water and the amount of fall or head that was available at the site. Water rights were an important part of the property’s deed and sometimes a miller would purchase an upstream mill as a way to ensure his rights to the waterway. Therefore, it makes sense to organize a list of water-powered mills by their water sources. Every stream or river is part of a larger watershed.
What is a watershed?
A watershed is the area of land that drains to a specific body of water, whether a stream, pond, lake, river, or ocean. A watershed area can be as large as the many states or as small as a creek running through a meadow. Watersheds can be broken down into smaller watersheds which can be further broken into even smaller watersheds. All of Lancaster County falls into the Susquehanna River watershed which in turn is part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The map at the bottom illustrates the principle watershed in the county.
Here then are the major watersheds that this site uses to organize the mills that are still standing.
