Ressler's Mill Tour Pays Tribute To Local History

"We are a best-kept secret," said Linda Taylor, a tour guide at Ressler's Mill in Mascot, a small village located southeast of Leola. "Anyone who has an interest in Lancaster County history would enjoy a visit here."

There has been a mill on the property at 2900 Stumptown Road, Ronks, since the 1730s. The last family to run a mill there purchased the site in 1865. Three generations of Resslers worked the mill until 1977, when Franklin Ressler and his sister, Anna, ceased operations and moved to Landis Homes, taking one suitcase each. What they left behind - along with Franklin's shrewd investments - has allowed the mill property to become a historical treasure in Lancaster County.

"I know the mill, and the mill knows me," said Franklin in a video that was made shortly before his death at age 92 in 1994. The mill - also known as the Mascot Roller Mills - which processed both corn and wheat, was Franklin's life work from the time he completed high school, with the exception of three years in the 1940s when he served in the U.S. Air Force. The mill also served as the Mascot Post Office and a community hub from 1890 to sometime in the 1930s. The name "Mascot" is associated with the post office, approved by John Wanamaker, who was postmaster general when the post office was set up. According to Taylor, the name "Mascot" was based on a dog in a play that Jacob and Annie Ressler - parents of Anna and Franklin - saw when they traveled to New York City to be married by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher.

During a tour, Taylor explained the workings of the mill, noting that grain was stored on the second floor. "(Grain) was loaded in a barrel and hoisted up using waterpower," she noted, adding that water was channeled to run the water wheels and grinding stones. "In the early 1900s, the water wheels were replaced with water turbines," explained Taylor. Conveyor belts took the meal upstairs to be sifted, with finer product used for food and coarser meal becoming animal feed.

After Anna and Franklin moved out, the home was preserved as they left it for the sake of history. Among the artifacts they left behind is the Conestoga wagon bell Anna used to summon Franklin for lunch. Visitors can also see the summer kitchen where meals were cooked and the root cellar, which can keep eggs and butter at a constant temperature year-round. The children's ice skates and the wedding flowers that belonged to Annie, Franklin and Anna's mother, preserved in wax, are also on display.

The Ressler Mill is currently open for tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each Wednesday through Saturday. More information may be found at http://www.resslermill.com.