The Mill at Anselma welcomes the public!
The Mill at Anselma strives to provide visitors of all ages with a fun, hands-on educational experience. This c. 1747 grist mill has witnessed the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the Great Depression, and many other historical highs and lows in its 250+ years. We have chosen to represent the site as it evolved over the years, rather than restore it to one particular period, to give visitors a better understanding of societal change over time.
We are also open Dawn to Dusk for walkers and picnickers. Our trail map can be found here: Lenape Trails at Anselma
We can also customize your tour to the interests and time constraints of the group and create a unique experience. These group tours can be scheduled for any day of the week and are optimal during our operational season of April through December. For more information on pricing, tours, and scheduling, please contact our team at 610-827-1900 Option 3 or MyEvent@AnselmaMill.org!
The Mill is open on weekends throughout April-December, Saturday 10-4 and Sunday 1-4, unless indicated on our Calendar. The Visitors’ Center is open and tours are offered during these hours.
On the second Saturday of each month (April to December), mill grinding demonstrations are offered in addition to educational activities and tours.
On weekends tours are offered on the hour Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m and Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Demonstration Saturdays have station guides all day.
Admission rates are as follows:
Adult (ages 15 – 61) – $10
Senior (age 62 and over) – $5
Youth (ages 4 – 14) – $5
Children 4 years and under – Free
Consider the benefits to you and your family or organization as well as The Mill by becoming a personal or corporate member. See Giving.
When we are not open for business, and provided there is no private event in session, our Mill is open to walkers, joggers, or picnickers from Dawn to Dusk. Check out our trail map: Lenape Trails at Anselma
School Programs
Our primary mission at The Mill is education. With that in mind, we offer many opportunities for students to explore the past beyond our traditional site tours. All of our educational programs features hands-on activities.
We encourage our visitors to experience the Mill through taste, touch, sight, smell and sound, and offer a variety of programs that are suitable for history, economics, science and English curricula.
The Mill and its volunteer force can accommodate around 50-60 children maximum per slot (morning or afternoon). Tours take between 1-2 hours. Picnic tables and indoor seating are available for a box lunch.
“Pancakes, Pancakes” Program
Pre-K – First Grade
This program gives students a basic understanding of where food—in this case flour and cornmeal—comes from. Students enjoy a tour of the grist mill, where they can help the miller shell corn, grind the grains, and sift the flour. Then the students help Mill staff bake cornbread with the newly ground cornmeal, after a reading from the Eric Carle book “Pancakes, Pancakes,” which tells the story of how the food we eat every day makes the journey from the field to the table. This program is best experienced as a milling tour.
“Run of the Mill” Program
Grades 1 – 8
Grades 1 to 8
“Run of the Mill” teaches students a brief history of agriculture in Chester County, and how technological advances like railroads affected farming in this area. Students will identify different kinds of grains, including wheat, corn, rye and barley, and will learn where they are grown and used today. They will then have the opportunity to help Mill staff harvest, thresh and winnow wheat, and a tour of the grist mill will follow. This tour is available in both milling and non-milling versions.
Grades 9-12 and Beyond
The Mill offers a unique opportunity for your students to learn about primitive and modern technology and technological development. It also provides a rich site for research in the areas of: history, economics, technology, and religion. While the Mill cannot provide a funded internship at this time, more than enough work is available for an intern at the Mill.
More Information
If your school or group are interested in more information regarding The Mill’s educational programs, please call (610) 827-1900 or email MyEvent@anselmamill.org. Rates are $4 for schoolchildren and $5 for adults. A cost of $75 is required to run our 270 year old Mill.
- Information about visitors with special needs should also be given in advance of the visit. Most of the Mill is wheelchair accessible, but due to its historic nature there are areas of rough terrain.
- Small children require attention. There are many moving parts in the Mill itself which may be dangerous to unsupervised children and our pond is very deep in some areas. Adults will be expected to reinforce site rules and regulations and maintain good supervision of the children in their care.
- Keep in mind that the Mill is a fully operational piece of equipment, with many moving parts, and many areas of the property may prove hazardous to unsupervised children. The Mill at Anselma is not responsible for any injuries sustained on site.
- Visitors should try to wear shoes comfortable to walk in, since the historic site is preserved in its rough and original form in many places.
If you have any questions about the best tour for your students, please call our office and we would be happy to help.
- All groups desiring a tour MUST have a reservation.
- Information about visitors with special needs should also be given in advance of the visit. Most of the Mill is wheelchair accessible, but due to its historic nature there are areas of rough terrain.
- Small children require attention. There are many moving parts in the Mill itself which may be dangerous to unsupervised children and our pond is very deep in some areas. Adults will be expected to reinforce site rules and regulations and maintain good supervision of the children in their care.
- Keep in mind that the Mill is a fully operational piece of equipment, with many moving parts, and many areas of the property may prove hazardous to unsupervised children. The Mill at Anselma is not responsible for any injuries sustained on site.
- Visitors should try to wear shoes comfortable to walk in, since the historic site is preserved in its rough and original form in many places.
- The reservation for a facility from a picnic table to the entire campus for your event is available via MyEvent@AnselmaMill.org to make your event most special.
- Per-person admission for any specially arranged group tours outside weekend hours and not from educational institutions is:
Adult (ages 15 – 61) – $10
Senior (age 62 and over) – $5
Youth (ages 4 – 14) – $5
Children 4 years and under – Free
- We require the total admission be paid within two weeks of attendance.
- A $200.00 deposit is required for groups of 60-100. This deposit is non-refundable. In the event of inclement weather we will gladly reschedule your visit.
- We require a $100.00 charge to run the Mill itself. This fee pays for the upkeep of a 270 year old machine.
- There is free parking for buses, cars, vans, and shuttles on site. Please follow the prompts, cones, and signs on site to make sure that you do not run into trouble parking.
- We can make accommodations ahead of time for anyone with a parking or handicap concern. Please get in touch at 610-827-1900.
- When you arrive, please assemble in the parking area. If a member of the Mill staff is not present to greet you, please send one person to the Red Barn/Visitor’s Center to announce your group’s arrival.
- The Mill at Anselma does not offer food service. Catering options are available from our list of vendors. Non-approved caterers must pay an additional fee. A small picnic area is available for classes bringing their own lunches. Visitors are expected to dispose of trash in specified containers.
- The Mill at Anselma Gift Shop is open to all visitors on weekends when the Mill is open and accepts Visa, Mastercard, Checks (made payable to the Mill at Anselma), and Cash. We offer a variety of our own stone ground flour products, local honey, stoneware, magnets, apparel and books as mementos of your visit.
- Please note that the Mill at Anselma reserves the right to photograph the group tour activities for use in future site publications and publicity. If the group has any objections to being
photographed, please make them known to Mill staff before the start of the visit.
Facts about Stone Ground Flour
Does your recipe call for all-purpose flour?
Simply mix the Mill’s bread and pastry flour together at a 1:1 ratio. So if a cookie recipe calls for 2 cups of all-purpose flour, simply use 1 cup of bread flour and 1 cup of pastry flour.
What is “whole grain” anyway?
Since we’ve started selling The Mill’s flour, we frequently get the question — is it whole grain? Our answer is a resounding Yes! In fact, this is as whole grain as it gets. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines “whole grain” as grain that contains the entire grain kernel — the bran, endosperm, and germ.
The flour you buy at the local grocery store is most likely refined — that is — the bran and germ has been removed, as well as well as dietary fiber, iron and many B vitamins. Refined grains are then “enriched,” a process where the nutrients are added back in.
With The Mill at Anselma’s flour — what you see is what you get — we pour wheat into the hopper, and it is ground and sifted — you end up with all the nutrients you started with! Because the germ is still present, we recommend that you store your flour in the freezer to keep it fresh.
What is the difference between unbleached and bleached flour?
Unbleached flour, like that ground at the Mill at Anselma, does not have any additives and is creamy in color when first ground. Flour naturally “bleaches” and becomes whiter when allowed to age for approximately three to four weeks. This aging process gives dough its elasticity during gluten formation. The Mill at Anselma’s flour is stored in a freezer to promote aging and to mitigate rancidity.
Bleached flour uses a bleaching agent to speed up the natural aging process. Most commercial mills use potassium bromate or chlorine to bleach flour. Cake flours actually benefit from bleaching as it enables the wheat starches to absorb more water, resulting in moister cakes.
Sources: The Mill at Anselma’s Miller’s Guide; Fact Sheet, Lehi Roller Mills, Salt Lake City, Utah