The Water Wheel
The overshot water wheel provides the power to run the Mill machinery. It is called an “overshot” water wheel because the water flows over the top of the wheel to fill the buckets. The weight of the water in the buckets causes the wheel to turn at eight revolutions per minute and generates 2.3 horsepower.
A sixteen-foot steel water wheel manufactured by the Fitz Water Wheel Company in Hanover, Pennsylvania was installed between 1906 and 1909. Prior to that date, and for more than 150 years, the water wheel was made of wood and would have been replaced every fifteen to twenty years.
Our water wheel was rebuilt in 2001-2002 by the Pottstown Metal Welding Company and installed as part of the mill restoration.
