Down by the Old Mill Stream…

During the 18th century, Ambler was a bustling mill town in the midst of a fertile agricultural area. It boasted eight gristmills for grinding locally grown grain into flour, a fulling mill that turned sheep's wool into blankets and fabric, and a sawmill that turned timber into lumber. Ambler's mills operated for 200 years bringing prosperity and prominence. Reiff's Mill produced barrels of flour under the Rose Valley Mills label that were widely distributed throughout the country.

The Mills and their Locations

• The Hague Mill- Bethlehem Pike near Hague's Mill Road
  
• The Burk or Edge Mill- Morris Road
  
• The Reiff Mill- Butler Avenue and Reiff's Mill Road
  
• The Clover, Chopping and Saw Mills- Butler Avenue and Spring Garden Street
  
• The Plumly Mill- Butler Avenue and Morris Road
  
• The Fulling Mill- Main Street and Tennis Avenue
  
• The Wertsner Mill
  
• The Thomson Mill

Ambler is just a few short miles from Fort Washington, therefore it should come as no surprise that the mills played an important role during the Revolutionary War. The Wertsner Mill provided a safe haven for George Washington's soldiers who encamped on its grounds, and the Fulling Mill supplied them with warm blankets.

During the Civil War, the Clover Mill supplied the Union Army with materials needed for its equipment.

Colorful mill stories have passed down to us from the 18th Century and from the Civil War era, when Ambler was home to abolitionists.

In the 1880's, with the advent of new steam technology to power industy, and the railroad to carry raw materials to large factories, Ambler's mills became obsolete. One by one, they ground slowly to a halt. Hague's Mill was the last to close, in 1887. The people of Ambler then turned to other endeavors to earn their living.

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Related site:
Visit this site for more information about Fort Washington.

Source: Early History of Ambler by Dr. Mary P.H. Hough, 1936.