Walker's Mill and Walker's Bank

Walker's Mill and Walker's Bank
Walker's Mill, June 2011
LocationWalkers Mill Road, near Wilmington, Delaware
Coordinates39°46′14″N 75°34′43″W / 39.77068°N 75.57849°W / 39.77068; -75.57849
Area9 acres (3.6 ha)
Built1813 (1813)-1815
NRHP reference No.72000296[1]
Added to NRHPFebruary 1, 1972

Walker's Mill and Walker's Bank, also known as Simsville, Siddall's Mill, and "Big White Mill", is a historic spinning cotton mill and worker's dwelling block located near Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware. Walker's Mill was built between 1813 and 1815, and is a 2+12-story, T-shaped, stone building.

History

It measures approximately 100 feet by 225 feet and features a tower topped by a cupola. Walker's Bank is a two- to three-story rectangular stone building built in 1813 and consisting of four worker's homes. It measures 44 feet by 75 feet and each long side features a porch divided among the four units.[2]

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.[1]

The Ashford family bought Walker's Mill and Walker's Bank in 2002. They renovated Walker's Mill into an office for their building, but did not find a use for Walker's Bank, which has limited parking and is under deed restrictions. It decayed to the point of near-collapse, and they applied for a demolition permit for it in 2018. After a nine-month delay for review by the New Castle County historic review board, the permit was granted late in the year.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ Eleanor M. Webster (August 1970). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Walker's Mill and Walker's Bank". and Accompanying six photos
  3. ^ Wilson, Xerxes (December 3, 2018). "After a year of fighting, historic Delaware home on the Brandywine set for demolition". Delaware News Journal. Retrieved December 4, 2018.