Community Corner
Roslyn Gristmill Refurbishment to Begin
For years, legislators pushed to release funding to support renovations to this 300-year-old historic structure.
Before electricity powered industry, shoreline gristmills harnessed the energy of incoming and outgoing tides to turn the mechanisms that ground grain into flour. Built by Jeremiah Williams sometime between 1715 and 1741, the Roslyn Gristmill on Old Northern Boulevard is one of the few remaining mills on the North Shore.
Hendrick Onderdonk bought the mill in 1758. His home was the nearby building that served as the George Washington Manor for decades. New owners Poll Restaurants renamed it Hendrick’s Tavern in honor of the building’s original owner.
From 1920 to 1974, the gristmill building served as a teahouse and museum.
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During restoration, the Gristmill will be raised to street level and the historic Dutch timber frames will be restored. When completed, the County will transfer the title to Roslyn Village and the Roslyn Landmark Society will organize historic exhibits. This historically significant mill is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Working with the Village of Roslyn, the Roslyn Landmark Society and the Town of North Hempstead and Town Historian Howard Kroplick, Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton was finally able to secure funding towards this project, which was initiated by former Legislator Wayne Wink. For many years, both legislators pushed for approval to transfer $440,000 from a 2006 Open Space Bond Act to help fund these restorations. It wasn’t until the fall of 2018 that the Legislative Majority finally voted to release the funds.
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The estimated cost for this phase of restoration is $1.4 million, the balance of which will be paid by municipal funding and private donations. “It is very important for us to preserve as much of Long Island’s history as possible,” Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton said. “I am pleased and relieved that the funding has finally been approved to help refurbish this building so it will continue to stand for future generations.”
For more information about the Gristmill, visit roslynlandmarks.org. Feel free to contact Legislator DeRiggi-Whitton at 516-571-6211 about this or any other project in District 11.
