1930: They Went Looking for Their Past
1704 Date Stone
On a sunny Sunday in October 1930, newlyweds E. Mortimer & Elizabeth B. Newlin took a drive to Concordville to search for Mortimer’s ancestors. His parents had told him there was an old grist mill there that had been built by his ancestor, Nathanial Newlin. In a family chronicle that she would write years later, Elizabeth fondly recalled the search:
“We found it without difficulty and also found an old rickety ladder up which Mort climbed to read the inscription, “Nat’l & Mary Newlin 1704.” At that moment, although I don’t think he spoke of it at the time, the seed of desire to acquire it was planted in Mort’s heart.”
Twenty-six years later, on March 26, 1956, Mortimer & Elizabeth would purchase the 3½ acres upon which the mill, the miller’s house, and a
Elizabeth and Mortimer Newlin, circa 1960
store/house stood. This would be the first of 29 separate acquisitions the Newlins would make during their lifetimes. The Foundation later purchased the Trimble House in 1989, creating the 160-acre park we enjoy today.
Mortimer especially enjoyed the befuddlement of neighbors who lived around the mill site. It seemed unusual to spend so much time and money buying up land around an old mill. It took several years before they would realize that the Newlins’ motives were altruistic and that Mortimer had a plan all along:
“He had a dream of restoring the Mill which had belonged to his second ancestor in this country, and of putting it back in working order so that it could grind corn as it had in 1704. He also had a dream of acquiring land, the same land his ancestors had trod and making of it an open space to be enjoyed by the public at a time when very little open space was left.”
Mortimer and Elizabeth would devote their remaining years to see this dream come to fruition. After 139 years, the historic mill was finally back in the family. They eagerly began the work to restore it to its 18th century condition, and found like-minded people to work with them to create a beautiful nature refuge, planting thousands of trees and creating trails that are still traversed today.
While the work was progressing on the site, Mortimer was determined to meet the need to fund the mill and the park “in perpetuity.” An investment broker by trade, Mortimer understood that the continuity of his dream would require the structure and support of a well-endowed foundation. Thirty years after Mortimer has a spark of an idea from touching his ancestors names, the Newlins formed the Nicholas Newlin Foundation in 1960, a nonprofit dedicated to the care and preservation of the buildings and surrounding 160 acres of land that make up the Newlin Grist Mill. Mortimer and Elizabeth are gone but Mort’s dream is alive and thriving here in Concord – just as he planned.
References
Elizabeth B. Newlin Family Chronicle
