This grist and saw mill was built by Zebulon Gurley sometime prior to 1778. It is known as Mason’s Mill, named after the Mason family who acquired it in the latter half of the 19th century. It was operated as an up-and-down saw mill, and although this type of mill went out of general use in the United States around 1840, this mill continued its use until it ceased operation about 1935. The mill was torn down in the 1960’s. The saw from the mill is in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
In 1885, this mill was the subject of an important lawsuit over riparian rights. Charles Mason, along with Emory B. Smith and William Williams, mill owners in Gurleyville, brought suit against James Hoyle of Willington. Hoyle had dammed the Fenton River in Willington, thereby reducing the water flows for these mills operating downstream. The plaintiffs won the lawsuit that is still cited today as a precedent in cases involving water rights.
The mill functioned as an important part of the Four Corners community, as evidenced by the following excerpt from Edna Mason Parker’s memoirs.
Joshua's Trust preserves natural habitats and heritage sites in northeastern Connecticut. To learn more contact:
Take Route 44 east through Mansfield Depot and past the UConn campus. Bear right onto Old Turnpike Road. The site is just past the Fenton River on the left.
Take I-84 to Willington. Head south on Route 320 until it ends at Route 195. Take a left and another quick left onto Route 44. Bear right onto Old Turnpike Road. The site is just past the Fenton River on the left.
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