History of Clear Springs Mill

The grist mill and sawmill at Clear Springs first appear on local tax records in 1809, built by Adam Ernst along the north branch of the Bermudian Creek. A generation later acquired by George Dick, the property remained with the Dick family until 1994.

In the 1880s the simple 2-story mill was expanded to a full three stories. The need for more space as well as the indications of pride in the construction of this new building tell us business was good. The grist mill housed 3 sets of mill stones, grinding flour, meal and animal feed for local farmers. In addition, the sawmill had one set of stones used for grinding limestone, hauled down by wagon from the kilns on South Mountain.

But with the coming of large commercial mills in the 1900s, local rural mills became unprofitable. Clear Spring Mills ground its last sack of cornmeal in 1947. The sawmill had ceased operating in the 1930s. Then a new highway in 1956 separated the mills from their water source. For nearly 50 years these wonderful pieces of rural history sat abandon and deteriorating.

In 1994 Art and Donna Bert acquired the property from the descendants of the Dick family. Detailed restoration of the grist mill building started almost immediately, from replacing rotting sill logs and siding at the bottom to new slate and standing seam metal roof at the top. And everything in between, including reglazing 400+ panes of glass. In the spring of 1996 Donna, a spinner and weaver, opened the gift shop and gallery at Clear Springs Mill.


Restoration of the sawmill, which was nearly a ruin, began in 1999. It now offers a wonderful area for outdoor gatherings, as well as wood working and fiber studio space.

Clear Spring Mills is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The project received the Award for Excellence from the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission for attention to detail in the restoration process. Art and Donna now live at the mill in an 1840s log house which they dismantled and moved to the property.

Click on any photo above to enlarge.