Double Mills records document the restoration and preservation of the historic mill located near Mardela Springs, Md. The materials date from 1988-1996, with the bulk of the material dating from 1988-1991. The records encompass the restoration activities and efforts of Double Mills, Inc., and the Double Mills Preservation Foundation. These efforts are documented through correspondence, fundraising records, architectural drawings, maps, easement agreements, newspaper clippings, and photographs. In addition to the Double Mill records are photographs of the Rewastico Mill located in Hebron, Maryland.

Double Mills is located less than two miles east of Mardela Springs, Maryland, on Barren Creek. The land was part of a 95 acre patent given to Benjamin Venables Sr. in 1776. The first mill was built sometime in the late 1700s. The mill maintained operations into the  1930s when a major renovation of the mill and its mechanisms was done at the time by the owner  John P. Bennett and his sons Harold, Darcy, and Carl. The Bennetts also opened up a general store at the location and Double Mills became a commercial center. In June of 1947, the Bennett’s sold the property to Tennessee and Martha Thomas. In 1958 the mill was sold to Charles Richard and Edward Wright. The mill continued some degree of operation until the 1970s. However, the mill became inoperable after a winter storm damaged the structure in 1979, signifying the end of a 200’ year milling industry at Double Mills.

Beginning in the 1980s a group of concerned Eastern Shore residents created a non-profit group to repair the mill. Double Mills Inc., together with other conservation groups, raised enough funds to complete the project in the 1990s. Together they restored the mill, surrounding lands, and the general store. The group was revived in 2007 to maintain what the original members had started, and they currently continue to campaign.

Folders are listed by their numeric designation; any given subject may be disbursed throughout the entirety of the collection.