Premium Millpond | lake

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Premium Mill Pond is located in the city of New Rochelle, New York northeast of Echo Bay, between the Premium Point penninsula and the mainland. It is fed by the Premium River and is separated from Echo Bay by a dam that creates a waterfall into the harbor.

Premium Mill -
This mill was located on the border of New Rochelle and the Town of Mamaroneck on the Premium Point peninsula. It was the successor of a much older mill that had been located farther up the creek in the Town of Mamaroneck at Pryer's Bridge. The old mill on this creek originated, it would seem, with the Palmer family, probably Sylvanus Palmer, who died in 1742. His son, John Palmer, was the next owner, and he was followed by Gilbert Willett and then by Samuel Underhill. The latter sold it in 1776 to his brother-in-law, James Mott. The Palmers, Underhills, and Motts were Quakers. James Mott continued to reside at and operate the old mill for over forty years, his home being the Pryer house, which he built, an older house having been burned.

The Premium Mill was erected in 1801 by James Mott and his sons, who managed the mill business, and it was brought about by the need of greater facilities for handling the increasing business due to large exportation of flour to Europe following the French Revolution. The new mill was placed half a mile lower down near the mouth of the bay, whose tide provided the water power and gave much larger storage of water than the dam above at the old mill. The Premium Mill was very large with ten run of stones which was later increased to twelve and every known improvement was introduced. It was said to have been the largest flour-mill in the country at that period.

The project was a great success at first, and Adam Mott of Cow Neck, Long Island, a son-in-law of James Mott, was invited to take a share in it, which he did in 1803. In 1804 the sons, Robert and Samuel Mott, became the owners and managers of the mill, Robert Mott being the agent, residing in New York City, in partnership with John L. Bowne, under the name of Mott & Bowne, and handled the exportation of the flour in large quantities, especially to France. In the same year, Adam Mott became a part-owner of the mill property, and, in 1805, Robert Mott died, and then Richard Mott was added to those interested in the mill.

The wars between Napoleon and England in 1806 and 1807 and the embargoes and blockades placed on the ports were disastrous to this enterprise of the Motts, and, following this, came the War of 1812 with even more disastrous results. After the close of the latter war, the property passed from the Motts to Isaac W. Coles and William F. Coles. Although the mill itself was at the Mamaroneck end of the mill-dam, the dam itself connected with the New Rochelle shore and the miller's house was at the New Rochelle end. However, access to and from the mill was by a private road in Mamaroneck, running over the old mill-dam at Pryer's and thence down the beach to the Premium Mill. In 1829 a new road was opened by the Messrs. Coles from the New Rochelle end of the dam direct to the Boston or Turnpike Road. This gave a much-needed and more direct connection from the main road, which still exists as Premium Point Road.

The business of the mill never recovered from the effects of the wars, and, eventually, dwindled to insignificance, due very largely to the construction of the Erie Canal and the development of western New York as the great center of the milling industry. Henry P. Kellogg became its owner in 1843 and held it for nearly forty years. The last use of the mitt was for grinding barytes, after which it was abandoned to decay and was torn down in January and February, 1883.


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