MassachusettsThe Baxter Mill sits on the north side of Route 28 in West Yarmouth, backing onto Mill Pond and bordered by Mill Creek. The 20-foot-square, two-story, shingled grist mill rises to a low hip roof, with 15/15 sash windows and board shutters. A grist mill was first built on this site around 1710 by John and Shubel Baxter, a prominent local family and large landowners, using an outside waterwheel; the mill was rebuilt about 1860 and modernized with an interior iron turbine because low water and winter freezing damaged the wooden wheels. It is significant under Criterion A as the only remaining grist mill in Yarmouth and the only known turbine-powered mill on Cape Cod, having played a continuous role in the town's economy. Restored to working order in 1961 with a replica turbine and donated to the town as a museum, it remains in operating condition.
Baxter Mill
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Baxter Mill is a landmark in Yarmouth, Barnstable County. It is one of 6,558 landmarks documented in Barnstable County, among 6,897 historic sites cataloged across the county on MassRoam.
The site sits at 41.6575, -70.2612 near Yarmouth. The nearest cataloged historic site is Gray, Capt. Thomas House (landmark), about 0.5 miles away. Others within a short drive include Baker, Capt. Seth Jr. House, Commercial Building at 63 Main St, and Crowell, Capt. Zenas Edwin House.
This record is drawn from public historical records. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
Baxter Mill on Route 28 in West Yarmouth is the only surviving 18th-century water-powered mill on Cape Cod. It was built about 1710 by John and Shubael Baxter and operated as a grist mill; a mid-19th-century renovation replaced its external waterwheel with an internal turbine, and it worked until around the turn of the 20th century. The town-owned mill was restored to working order in 1961 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.
Sources: en.wikipedia.orghsoy.org
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