What’s happening at the historic Peirce Mill: Children’s Day, restoration and repairs

Peirce Mill and square dancers in 2024 (photos courtesy of Friends of Peirce Mill)

Have you been to Peirce Mill? For two centuries, the stone structure has stood at what is now Tilden Street and Beach Drive. And its current caretakers, the National Park Service and Friends of Peirce Mill, are continuously working to bring its history to life.

One pillar of that work is the Friends organization’s free public events, such as the square dance at the mill on Saturday, August 23rd. (Forest Hills Connection mistakenly reported in our August newsletter that the event is on August 24th, which is the rain date.)

Another upcoming event is Children’s Day on Saturday, September 6th, with hands-on activities and an 11 a.m. performance in Spanish and English by Teatro La Bolsa. September 27th is the mill’s Picnic in the Park. Carly Harvey, DC’s “Queen of the Blues,” will serenade the picnickers. And on October 19th is the mill’s Mid-Atlantic Grain Fair.

Currently on hold are milling demonstrations with the water wheel activated and the grindstone, well, grinding. Angela Kramer, the executive director of Friends of Peirce Mill, tells Forest Hills Connection that the mill’s recirculating pump broke on August 2nd, and that the group is working with NPS to get it fixed as soon as possible.

In April, millwright Gus Kiorpes and miller Cory Welshans repaired a rotting section of Peirce Mill’s control gate, which opens to let water fall on the water wheel.

She also says the community is invited to learn more about the pump repairs and other work during a virtual meeting for FOPM members on Wednesday, September 24th. Becoming a member is easy and nets you an invitation to events such as the mill’s annual cider tasting.

Friends of Peirce Mill memberships and donations help keep the mill and its programs running. Last spring, Kramer said, the organization trained a new team of rangers, apprentices, and volunteers. It’s been collaborating with historians to uncover the stories of the enslaved people who worked the Peirce farm and mill. And long-term goals include fully restoring the mill, which had machinery on all four floors.