Mills of Thomas Bennet Esq., Second River Near the Passaick River, N. Jersey

Periodca. 1795 - 1800

MediumInk on paper

Dimensions11 × 18.2 in. (27.9 × 46.2 cm)

InscribedInscribed in lower margin, "Mills of Thomas Bennet Esqr Second River near the Passaick River N Jersey." Also inscribed in upper left, "No 6."

MarkingsWatermarked in center, "J. Whatman / 1794."

ClassificationsLandscapes & Still Life

Credit LineGift of Stephen C. Clark, Esq., in Memory of his Father, Alfred Corning Clark, 1936

Object number1995.551

DescriptionDepiction of a long, narrow timber-framed mill sided with round butt shingles. A stone arch masonry structure over a river intersects the mill at mid point in its long elevation paralleling the river. The water wheel is housed in an extension to the mill to the immediate right of the masonry structure. Water spills from a short flume next to where the masonry structure meets the wheel house. A roadway in the foreground crosses the river on a bridge adjacent to the mill. The roof peak of a second building with a chimney appears over the top of the masonry structure. A tree occupies the left foreground.
Curatorial RemarksArchibald Robertson (1765 - 1835), a Scottish born artist, produced a second work depicting Bennett's Mill, although looking at it from the west or opposite direction of this sketch. That finished watercolor, owned by the New Jersey Historical Society, confirms many of the architectural details shown in the drawing, such as the arched masonry structure over the river, the long narrow configuration of the mill building, and the second building to its west with a single chimney. But what the two views make clear is that the masonry structure was not a bridge nor a dam. It was a part of the raceway system that apparently ran on the south side of Second River then crossed the brook at a right angle to bring water from a dam further upstream to the overshot wheel in the wheel house. This resulted in an unusual arrangement where the water source intersected with the wheel at ninety degrees.NotesThe grist mill operated by Thomas Bennett in the late 18th century was situated on the north bank of Second River near its confluence with the Passaic River in Essex County. Second River, which today flows through Branch Brook Park, forms the boundary between Newark and Belleville. Bennett owned a farm just west of Washington Avenue in Belleville. The mill was described as follows: "In close proximity to the dam, and upon the line of the street, if not encroaching upon it, stood a building about twenty-five by forty feet, close to which, and upon the southerly side thereof, was the race-way and water-wheel, the former running easterly parallel with the line of the road, or Mill Street, and emptying into the brook fifty feet north of the bridge, crossing Second River on the road to Newark." In the early 19th century, the mill was operated by a person named Marks. During the War of 1812, the complex was enlarged and converted to produce gunpowder. That enterprise ended with a terrific explosion in 1814. After passing through a number of owners and uses, the mill site became a factory for producing wire cloth, for many years operating under the name of the De Witt Wire-Cloth Manufacturing Co.

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