The Water Wheel

One of the many (some would say the main) reasons Bahr's Mill is significant is "because of its rare, surviving, millwright-built, wooden water wheel." The "water wheel documentation project was undertaken with funding from the Ressler Mill Foundation, [and] was completed during November and December 1998 by John Bowie Associates (Media, PA) with technical assistance from Stephen J. Kindig, Molinological Specialist. The completed project was donated to the Historic American Engineering Record collection at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C." (Text from page one of the drawings.)

The images available through links on this page, below, are scanned versions of the drawings published by the Ressler Mill Foundation, P. O. Box 353, New Holland, PA 17557. They are available in the Museum Shop!

For more information on the Historic American Engineering Record, follow these links: (If you get a warning, please select "Allow blocked content." These links open in a new tab or window.)

HABS / HAER, Library of Congress.
HABS / HAER, National Park Service.

One of the most interesting things about the way the wheel is constructed is how the arms fit the shaft. Rather than there being eight arms around the shaft, there are only four that slide through the shaft and are locked into each other. The linked text is taken from The Young Mill-Wright & Miller's Guide, by Oliver Evans, 1795. Together the text and the drawings serve to explain this process.