Taylor Mill Historic Site

The Taylor Mill occupies 71 acres within Ballard State Forest, featuring a 12-foot diameter water wheel that powers traditional lumber processing operations.

Robert Taylor established the original sawmill in 1805, while Ernest Ballard later reconstructed it in 1939 using components from a similar mill in Sandown.

The mill demonstrates pre-industrial timber production methods through regular demonstrations, showing visitors the manual processes of transforming pine logs into lumber.

The facility opens every second and fourth Saturday between Memorial Day and Labor Day, processing logs up to 10 feet long and 28 inches in diameter.

The saw mechanism operates at 60 strokes per minute, using water power to drive the blade through logs in a vertical motion typical of nineteenth-century technology.

Location: New Hampshire

GPS coordinates: 42.87560,-71.23920

Latest update: March 2, 2025 23:11