Old Grist Mill

This brick gristmill was located on Penn Ave near Coal Street. Brothers Edward Moore Thompson built it in 1825 as a water mill powered by Nine Mile Run. It was later converted to a steam-powered mill owned and managed by Levi Ludwick from 1866 to 1887. Local farmers brought their grain to the mill to have it ground. The mill stood for over 100 years.

The fourth image is an 1878 image of Penn Avenue (Main Street at that time) looking west from up on the hill. On the far left side you can see two important things. One is the toll booth that Jacob Weinman operated at the corner of Main (Penn). Since this was the primary way to get to Pittsburgh, Weinman decided to take advantage and charge a toll. Wilkinsburg was not incorporated yet, so he could do it. He probably fixed the mud road with the money, so that he too could get his loads of coal down to Pittsburgh for the steel mills. The hooves of horses and the narrow carriage wagons did a lot of damage to mud roads.

The other important thing to note is the large building on the left with a little protrusion in the top front of the building is the grist (flour) mill. It was near Weinmans coal operation, but a little further down Main Street towards Mill Street. (The name "Coal" Street had already been taken by Weinman, so the next street up became Mill Street.)

Source: Wilkinsburg Historical Society. (2007). Images of America: Wilkinsburg. Arcadia Publishing.

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