Garrett Snuff Mill
The Garrett Snuff Mill is a factory in New Castle County founded in the early 1800s and run by the Garrett family to transform tobacco into snuff powder. The complex includes multiple stone and brick buildings with large windows constructed between the late 1800s and early 1900s that supported different stages of snuff production.
The Garrett family began as millers on Red Clay Creek in the early 1700s and built the first major stone mill in 1846, which was rebuilt after a fire in 1858. The business grew under various owners including the American Tobacco Company and later George W. Helme Company until closing in 1954 due to outdated machinery and declining demand.
The Garrett name reflects the family enterprise that built and sustained this tobacco business across multiple generations in the region. The mill served as a daily workplace where the community gathered, making it a social and economic hub that shaped the identity of Yorklyn itself.
Visitors can explore the exterior and certain accessible sections of the complex to view the architecture and layout of the historic factory. The grounds are quite quiet and work best for those interested in industrial history and early manufacturing practices.
The site displays original iron and wood machinery dating back to the 1880s still standing in the buildings. These remnants offer visitors a rare look at the actual manufacturing techniques and work tools that are more than a century old.
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