For America's first settlers, Indian trails served as roads and rivers became highways. One of the first pioneers in today's Bucks County was fur trader John Pidcock. Trading his furs up and down the Delaware River, Pidcock was the first to claim a section of land around Pidcock Creek. Fifty years later Quaker John Simpson acquired the land and set up the area's first grist mill. When he died, miller Robert Thompson married Widow Hannah Simpson, and greatly expanded the milling operation. Thompson eventually extended the miller's house, adding enough room for son-in-law William Neely.
   Briefly interrupted when George Washington's Revolutionary War troops used the home and property as a hospital and troop encampment, Thompson and his son-in-law processed locally grown grain until 1827. When the Delaware Canal was completed, the water levels of Pidcock Creek dropped dramatically, robbing the water wheel of its power. With compensation from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Neely rebuilt the mill on the west side of River Road, redirecting water from Pidcock Creek.
   New owners continued mill operations until 1926, when the state purchased the grist mill and property. Now part of Washington Crossing Historic Park, the mill was repaired and renovated to its 1830s appearance.

     Area Map