HSST Preservation Projects
As declared in its mission statement, the Historical Society of Stillwater Township is committed to the preservation of historic sites and structures in the township and to making these places available to the public and for educational purposes. Over the years HSST has assisted in raising funds and lobbying for official designations as well as organizing excursions for members to take part in hands-on cleaning and maintenance work. Stillwater’s Shafer Grist Mill, located in the village along the Paulinskill River, and was awarded the state’s historic registry designation in 2009. HSST has also played a role in the preservation of the Keen’s Mill in the Swartswood Lake area and the Van Horn family burial plot on Owassa Road in Stillwater.
Stillwater Grist Mill
When the Stillwater Grist Mill was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on December 9, 2009, it was officially dubbed the “Casper and Abraham Shafer Grist Mill Complex.” It is now owned by the State of New Jersey under the management of Swartswood State Park. In May of 2021, the non-profit organization Preservation New Jersey (PNJ) included the Grist Mill in its list of Ten Endangered Historic Places to acknowledge and publicize the building’s importance as an “irreplaceable historic, cultural and archaeological resource” and to rally support for its continuing preservation.
Additional Resources
- Robert Jacoby, “Shafer Grist Mill History”, 2007
- Grist Miller (1975)
- Frank Dale, “Stillwater Grist Mill”, excerpt from County Chronicles, published July 2001
- Gus Roof and Willard Klemm, Brochure on Stillwater Grist Mill, 1970
- The James Leffel & Co, “Leffel Improved Vertical Samson Turbines”
Keen's Mill
Keen’s Grist Mill is located on Route 519 near the outlet of Swartswood Lake. It was constructed in 1838 by George Keen on the site of an earlier mill built by Charles Rhodes. In 1901 it was sold to Dr. William Vale of Blairstown to control water flow to Blair Academy’s power station. Keen’s Mill Brook is the small stream that flows south from the Mill for less than a half mile before it intersects with Trout Brook which flows into the Paulinskill River.
Additional Resources
- Keen’s Mill Historical Photos
- Wayne McCabe, “Sussex County Lost: Keen’s Mill,” New Jersey Herald April 3, 2016
- Robert Jacoby, “Grist Mills in Stillwater and Fredon: A Survey” (2007)
- “Keen’s Mill Adaptive Reuse Feasibility Study,” Swartswood State Park, Project # PO 961-00, Sept 2003
Van Horn Cemetery
According to the publication “Pioneer Families of Northwestern New Jersey,” Abram Van Horn, the progenitor of the well-known Van Horn family, was baptized in the Netherlands in 1699. He married Anetje Couwenhoven and the couple raised eight children in Hunterdon County. Van Horn’s grandsons, Simon and Cornelius, were the first to relocate to Sussex County and to have been laid to rest in the family burial plot on Owassa Road in Stillwater. The cemetery contains around 15 unmarked graves of the extended Van Horn family. The brass plaque commemorating Cornelius and Simon Van Horn and their descendants was installed by Daughters of the American Revolution.
Additional Resources
Jennie Sweetman, Van Horn Cemetery to be restored; information sought on family, New Jersey Herald, February 5, 2017