Culture, History, Historic House, Specialized
From its start as a sawmill in the 1840s, Hanford Mills grew to also include a gristmill, feed mill, woodworking shop, and hardware store. The story of Hanford Mills is one of ingenuity, innovation and entrepreneurship. Over time, the Hanfords generated power using waterwheels, water turbines, a steam power plant, gas engines, and a dynamo that generates electric power. Because it so effectively shows how mills, once a mainstay of rural towns, operate, Hanford Mills garnered a place on both the National and New York State Registers of Historic Places.