Photos of Aldrich Mill with water wheel.

Aldrich Mill

       The Aldrich Mill has been a landmark in Granby Hollow for a long time.  It first operated as a distillery and then from 1836 to 1870 operated as a woolen factory supplying blankets for the Civil War.  It became a gristmill in 1870 and was converted to a blacksmith shop in 1913.  In 1878 several mills were destroyed by fire.  It was rebuilt in 1878 by Christopher C. Aldrich after the fire.  In the late 1940’s Elbert Aldrich added a water wheel and in 1960 it was the largest in New England but never used.  The Aldrich Mill and barn were abandoned and rebuilt and the water wheel was also rebuilt as tourists came to see it.  Today it is not used as a mill anymore.  It attracts artist and photographers.  It’s a scenic site.

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          Close up detail of water wheel.                 Photo of mill dated 1939.

The mill as it looks today.