Ivy Mills Historic District
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Ivy Mills Historic District
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Ivy Mills Mansion House, November 2009
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| Location | Corner of Ivy Mills and Pole Cat Rds., Concord Township, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates | 39°53′10″N 75°29′14″W / 39.88611°N 75.48722°WCoordinates: 39°53′10″N 75°29′14″W / 39.88611°N 75.48722°W |
| Area | 38.4 acres (15.5 ha) |
| Built | 1829 |
| NRHP reference # | 72001117 |
| Added to NRHP | August 21, 1972 |
Ivy Mills Historic District is a national historic district located at Concord Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The district includes the ruins of a paper mill, erected in 1829; the clerk's house, dated to about 1830; and the Ivy Mills Mansion House, built in 1837. The mansion house is a 2 1/2-story, five bay wide, stuccoed masonry building. It has a saltbox wing and a wide verandah. The original paper mill was erected in 1729, and the original mansion house in 1744. Both of the original buildings were replaced in the early-19th century by the present buildings.
In 1726, Thomas Willcox along with Thomas Brown built a mill dam across the Chester Creek. In 1729 a paper mill was erected and the first paper was sold. The Ivy Mills is the second oldest paper mill built in America. Only the Rittenhouse mill in Philadelphia is older.
The first output from Ivy Mills was pressboard and then printing paper. Thomas Willcox was a friend of Benjamin Franklin and was known to have made paper for him. Willcox received the first order for paper used in the production of colonial and continental currency. After 1775, the mill was devoted almost entirely to making government paper for the continental bills, loan certificates and bills of exchange. At the time of the American Revolution, the government depended entirely on Ivy Mills for paper for currency. The Ivy Mills supplied paper for the Continental and United States governments as well as many South American countries. Paper was produced at Ivy Mills until 1886. The mill gradually fell into ruins.
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