The origin of the name "West Point"
was coined by Elias K. Freed and Henry Moyer. Freed and
Moyer owned
a flour mill in North Wales, PA. The two businessmen
built several buildings about a mile west of North Wales
to
sell commodities not seen in the area these days - hay,
coal, lumber and animal feed. They named their outlet
the
West Point Feed House.
In the days before the automobile
it would be akin to owning a gas station, and was very
profitable.
(It should be noted here that Elias K. Freed became the
president of the First National Bank of Lansdale.) |
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Elias K. Freed's grist mill on Main
Street, North Wales PA in 188?.
The original mill at North
Wales was built by J. H. Egner in 1860, and was
then operated as a grist mill and distillery. It
was forty feet wide, sixty feet long, and three
stories in height, with an attic. At the time of
finishing the mill the proprietor was obliged to
sell it. Elias. K. Freed and Jonas and David
Moyer were the purchasers. The new firm removed
the machinery connected with the distillery, and
changed that part of the building into a planing
mill, using the other portion as a grist mill.In
March, 1862, the building was destroyed by fire,
but it was quickly rebuilt for a merchant and
grist mill, with five run of grinding stones and
a forty horsepower steam engine.
In 1866 Jonas D. Moyer withdrew from the firm,
and in 1868 David Moyer withdrew also, selling
his interest to Henry W. Moyer. Henry Moyer went
into business with George Schlotterer, but
Schlotterer sold his interest in the company
back to Elais Freed. (Or something like that -
it depends on which historical account you
read.) The company was now named E. K. Freed.
Note: George Schlotterer was the Burgess in
North Wales, so he was a township official.
Henry Moyer and Elias Freed were council
members. As noted above, Elias Freed was also
president of the First National Bank of
Lansdale.
Sometime around 1873 the West
Point Feed House was built.
In 1881 Henry Moyer sold his interest to Mr.
Freed, but retained ownership of the West Point
Feed House. The mill was then rebuilt a third
time. Its frontage was 120 feet, it had three
stories and an attic as well as a two story
warehouse. The five grinding stones were
replaced with a new technology that utilized
cylindrical corrugated rollers, greatly
increasing its capacity. It used eight pairs of
cast iron rollers and eight pairs of porcelain
rollers. Running day and night it could produce
150 barrels of flour a day. It was the first
roller process mill in Montgomery County and the
third in the state.
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This rendering of the mill is part of map
of North Wales dated 1886.
(The people and horses are not drawn to scale.)
Notice the discrepancy between the photo at the top of
this page and this drawing. There is an addition built
onto the left side
of the mill, but the top photo shows a railroad car
sitting on a siding. Did the addition actually exist, as
the drawing portrays?
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This later photo shows that the drawing
above is correct.
Notice it's now named "NORTH WALES STEAM MILLS." |
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This 1871 map shows there was indeed a
railroad siding next to the mill before it was rebuilt.
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At some point in time, the building was
split in two. An addition was built onto the roof of the
larger building |
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Photo thanks to
Dick Shearer |
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West Point is west of this mill. Where was the mill?
The location is shown below. |
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The mill is shown on Main Street in the
1886 map. The Number "1" on the key to the map
refers to "North Wales Steam Roller Mills, E.
K. Freed & Co". Those familiar with the area can
tell by the railroad tracks that it was located
next to the present day North Wales fire house. |
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The mill exists
today as 137 Main Street in North Wales. In 2005 it was
rebuilt as modern office space.
West Point
is
west of THIS building!
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| Here is the 1886 map
to view or download. (7.3 megabytes - will open in a new
window) |
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