Built by millwright Isaiah Linton and David Lee, the 4 1/2 story grist mill was placed in operation in August 1772.

The Grist Mill today.

In the 1790's the mill was upgraded to included mechanization recently patented by inventor Oliver Evans. This system greatly reduced the amount of labor involved in the milling process by allowing the same water power that drove the grindstones to run conveyers and other processing tasks.

The Lee family owned and operated the mill until 1886. The mill then changed hands a number of times until operations ceased and it was purchased by the state of Maryland in 1961.

The gristmill in 1990, before reconstruction

The list of mill owners:

* Ezra Phillips 1886 - 1891
* William Wilson 1891 - 1905
* Joseph Weiner 1905 - 1907
* Henry Smotritsky 1907 (June - October)
* Alexander Hurley 1907 - 1926
* Harry Pyle 1926 - 1944
* James Bridges 1944 - 1961
* State of Maryland 1961 - present

Until the late 1930's, when the dam washed out in a flood, the mill operated by water supplied by a dam upriver from the mill feeding an almost 1/2 mile raceway. After the flood the mill was converted to run on electricity and operated this way until the last miller died in 1961. At this time the state of Maryland purchased the building, after which it fell into disrepair.

The gristmill today - photo courtesy of L. Ullrich

In 1985 a group of concerned local citizens formed an organization dedicated to the preservation of the mill. The Friends of Jerusalem Mill, in cooperation with the state government, raised funds and contracted to rehabilitate the heavily deteriorated building. Work commenced in 1993 and was completed in 1995.

The building now houses the Museum on the first floor and Gunpowder Falls State Park Headquarters on the second floor.