Wooster Sawmill and Gristmill Site

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Wooster Sawmill and Gristmill Site is a historic mill complex on Park Street by the Little River in Oxford, Connecticut. It operated from at least 1747 to 1965 as a water-powered sawmill, gristmill, and cider mill, making it one of the longest-running such sites in the United States. Today, the remaining structures are private homes. A breached dam and parts of the old mill pond survive, and the mill building—a two-story wooden structure from the 1920s with a gabled roof—has been converted into a residence. Some old power equipment, including the last water turbine, is preserved. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. The mill’s history goes back to 1747; around 1750 Captain John Wooster bought it and ran a tavern on the nearby turnpike (now Route 67). In 1926 Joe Montriski bought the mill, built the present building, and used a 19th-century reaction turbine to power it for lumber and cider until his death in 1965. The Montriski family sold the property in 1971 and converted it to private residences.