Peirce Mill at Rock Creek Park in Washington, D. C.

LOCATION

Peirce Mill is located at the southern end of Rock Creek Park at the intersection of Tilden Street NW and Beach Drive. It has its own parking area and is also accessible via the Western Ridge Trail.

OPERATING HOURS

• April through October: Friday-Sunday from 10 AM to 4 PM
• November and December: Weekends from 10 AM to 4 PM
• January and February : Weekends from 12 PM to 4 PM
• March: Weekends from 10 AM to 4 PM
• Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s days

Actual milling demonstrations are held from 11 AM to 2 PM on the second and fourth Saturday of each month starting in April and running through October.

There is also a carriage barn on the property—the Peirce Barn—that serves as a visitor center. In addition to being able to get information on Rock Creek Park, there is a book and gift store inside, and you can watch a fifteen-minute video about the mill. Restrooms are on the backside.

Times can always change, so be sure to visit the National Park Service’s Rock Creek Park Operating Hours and Seasons web page for the latest schedules.

Peirce Barn Visitor Center at Rock Creek Park

MILL HISTORY

Issac Peirce purchased 160 acres in 1794 and began the operation of a farm and orchard. However, it wasn’t until 1829 that he and his son Abner built the flour mill that stands today. In addition to the mill and farm, Peirce ran a saw mill and a distillery. The flour mill was operated by the Peirce family until 1897, at which time the Federal Government purchased the property and added it to Rock Creek Park.

For the next thirty years the mill was used as a restaurant called the Teahouse. In the early 1930s the National Park Service decided to renovate the building back to a working flour mill, making it one of the Federal Government’s first historic preservation projects. Once open, flour was ground and sold to local residents. While milling demonstrations take place today, FDA regulations forbid the sale of the flour due to the fact that tourists can come through the mill, which causes the process to fail modern sanitation standards.

The mill was operational up until major damage occurred in 1993. Lacking funds for repairs, it sat idle until local citizens organized a non-profit group and raised money for the repair, which was carried out from 2009 to 2011.

Hoppers and grinding stones at Peirce Mill, Rock Creek Park

Information panels inside the building tell the mill’s story. Visitors are welcome to walk around on their own. You can check out the equipment, grinding stones, and gears that turn the stones. A park Ranger or volunteer is on hand to answer any questions.

Shaft and gears used to turn the grinding stones at Peirce Mill, Rock Creek Park

A dam outside the mill was built for the park in 1904 as a decorative water feature. However, similar dams were built by mill owners to create a pool of water that could be flushed into a mill race (aka flume), a channel that carries water to the waterwheel of the mill. The mill race is usually at a higher level than the waterwheel so that at the end the water either free falls onto the wheel like a waterfall or takes a steep nosedive along a sloped section of the flume before hitting the wheel and causing it to spin. The wheel is connected to a shaft and gears. As the shaft turns, so do the grindstones.

Dam at Rock Creek Park’s Peirce Mill

Diagram of how a waterwheel works

Plan to spend 20-30 minutes for your visit to Peirce Mill.

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