Wayne County Wanderings: A Visit to the Joel Hill Sawmill in Equinunk
This week's adventure takes us from the “big city” of Honesdale to the untamed wilderness of northern Wayne County for an unforgettable trip back in time.
On Sunday afternoon, I spent several hours at the Joel Hill Sawmill and the Thomas Cleveland Museum of Vintage Machinery.
The complex, which is located less than half a mile from Duck Harbor, is owned and operated by the Equinunk Historical Society. It's open to the public several times a year in the summer and fall thanks to the efforts of about a dozen hard-working volunteers
On this particular day, several of those volunteers gave tours of the facility and answered questions from curious visitors.
It was a fascinating experience … one that opened my eyes to just how industrious and ingenious our 19th century forebears truly were.
A Fascinating Experience
Greg Quaglio took the time to chat with me a few minutes before Sunday's official tour got underway.
A retired Industrial Arts teacher who spent a big chunk of his career in wood and metal shops, Quaglio was hooked from the very first time he visited.
“It's in my blood,” Greg said with a smile. “I showed up here for a demonstration back in 2013 and couldn't stay away. The history here is astonishing to me. Mills like this just don't exist anymore and I want to do my part to make sure this one's here for a long time to come.”
Running a sawmill back in “The Day” was a seasonal business, especially in northern Wayne … a place noted for its sometimes bitter winters.
During the cold months when the retention pond was frozen over, workers took on the task of preparing timber for sawing the following year.
Loggers and farmers cut trees on their property and then transported them to a big empty field located across from the mill. They'd make the trek using bobsleds drawn by huge draft horses.
Workers would then unload the wood and stack them in tiers where they'd sit until spring thaw, then be rolled down into the pond, which had to be at least six feet deep at all times.
The actual operation of the mill itself is a wonder of 19th century technology. Logs would be floated from the pond to the mill, steered by men with long pikes.
They'd then be hauled up into the mill, hoisted onto carriages and fastened in place by “swing dogs.” The carriage would run back and forth on rollers until perfectly positioned for the blade. This in itself was a marvel considering some of these logs were more than 40 feet long and incredibly heavy.
The main saw measures 54” in diameter and runs at a blistering 850 rpm. It's powered by water from the pond, which runs down into Little Equinunk Creek and eventually empties into the Delaware River.
While this sounds like a slow and cumbersome process, Quaglio is quick to point out what an efficient operation it really was.
“Using just a three-man crew, this sawmill could turn out 5,000 board feet of lumber every day,” Greg said. “They were most likely working from dawn to dusk six days a week.”
Boards were loaded onto a railroad-type hand cart, then run downhill atop a trestle (which was just recently restored) to a barn about a quarter mile distant.
There, the lumber was stored until ready for shipping. Horse drawn wagons transported this precious cargo to the Delaware River and from there to places as far away as Allentown, Philadelphia and Trenton (NJ).
Historical Complex
The original sawmill was built by William Holbert and JD Branning sometime just after the Civil War.
No one is 100 percent sure of the exact date, but a good guess would be circa 1865-1870.
This mill was one of many operating in the areas that now comprise Lookout, Pine Mill and Equinunk. There was another just downstream from Joel Hill's. It was owned by Isaac Young and stood right across the road from the Lookout Church.
Hill eventually consolidated his business in 1898 by purchasing the original mill, about 1,500 acres of timberland and the 205-acre body of water that's come to be known as “Duck Harbor.”
This northern Wayne County empire thrived, operating continuously right up until 1974 … with one notable exception.
In the fall of 1903, PA was hit by one of the worst natural disasters on record. “The Great Pumpkin Flood” was caused by more than 20 inches of rain which fell within a span of just 36 hours October 8-9.
The deluge received its unique name because runoff from the storm washed thousands of pumpkins from farmers' fields down countless tributaries and into the Delaware River.
They were seen for weeks afterward, bobbing up and down in the raging river.
The Great Pumpkin Flood of 1903 knocked the Joel Hill Sawmill out of commission for quite some time. However, after many hours of hard work and a concentrated reinforcing of the fieldstone foundation, the mill was once again up and running before winter.
Everyone is Welcome!
The Joel Hill Sawmill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
It was donated to the Equinunk Historical Society about 10 years after going silent for the last time as a commercial business. Then, after nearly another full decade of restoration and renovation, the saw roared back to life once again in 1992.
It is open to the public several times in the summer and again in the fall. But, behind the scenes, Historical Society volunteers are on the job every week.
“We're here pretty much year-round,” Greg said. “Even during the winter months if it's not frigid. There's always something to do to keep us busy.”
If you'd like to check out the Joel Hill Sawmill or find out more about the Historical Society, please call 570-224-6722.
This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Kevin Edwards: Adventure back in time to Joel Hill Sawmill in Equinunk
