Mayberry Mill
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In 1805, Big Pipe Creek Mill (Mayberry Mill) and dam were built by Jacob Maus, a German immigrant, in what was then Frederick County. The mill was and now is four stories high, a
40 x 60 foot building constructed from hand hewn timbers with pin and
peg construction.
The mill has been known as : Big Pipe Creek Mill, Halter's Mill, Marker's
Mill (still labeled as such on some maps), and Mayberry Mill due to its location at
the intersection of Mayberry and Stone Roads.
This was a flour and feed mill, one of 89 mills that existed in Carroll County at one
time. Not all of these mills grist grain. Flour from the mill once supplied a cracker
factory in Wilkes Barre, Pa. and bakeries in Baltimore, MD.
Local farmers brought their wheat, oats, barley, soybeans, and/or corn to the mill to be
ground into feed for their livestock. Some was also grist into flour and cornmeal.
The mill's power source was Big Pipe Creek, dammed at one location to increase its
force. There is little evidence of it today, but a race about 1/4 mile in length joined the creek and the mill, with water flowing into the basement of the mill and over a turbine.
A turbine or horizontal waterwheel powered the pulley systems, belts, and a grinding
stone in the mill. There was a second smaller waterwheel supplying water to the house.
The mill race was cleaned, generally once a year in the spring. A horse, pulling a
V-shaped implement, was inside the race with a mule on the race bank. Water would have
been stopped at the dam. People came with pants rolled up or in bathing suits grabbing fish from the race with their hands and throwing them into washtubs on the banks.
We have Ruth Halter Strevig, Stoner Fleagle, Charlotte and Marian Halter and Mildred
Ingram Duke to thank for sharing pieces of the mill's history, their own stories, and
photographs. Other than Stoner, these woman called the homestead at Mayberry Mill
home. Some of the information for this document was also gleaned from Joan Prall's
book: Mills and Memories.
It is believed the mill burned in 1901 and was rebuilt by John Marker. Not knowing
the fire's cause, one can assume it may have been grain chaff and dust, by-products of the
gristing process. Fire was always a real concern for mill owners.
The mill is now owned by Bob and Mary Ann Galandak. It is no longer gristing grain,
its waterwheel having turned its last in 1947. It is presently the site of biannual craft shows, craft classes, and social gatherings. Keeping the mill viable, not only preserves a
slice of history, but brings joy to those who pass through its door.
HISTORY
