The Old Mill

Harrison was originally a farming community, and people worked in weaving shops, saw mills or grist mills. One such relic of the past is unique to Harrison. Built circa 1700 by a Mr. Griffin, it is the only pre-Revolutionary grist mill in Westchester, and stands on the banks of the Mamaroneck River at West Street, adjacent to the Hutchinson River Parkway between Mamaroneck and Harrison, on a site steeped in Indian legend.

Known as the Old Mill Farm, at one time it knew the bustle and clamor of a busy commercial enterprise as farmers from the area brought their wheat and corn to be ground into flour and meal. Before the coming of the white man, the site was the home of the Mamaro tribe. Legend claimed that a Great White Deer visited the falls in the river at a certain time of the year when the moon was full, bringing good fortune and success to the lucky Indian who saw it and Indians came from as far away as the Great Lakes in hope of seeing it.

Although the Indians departed after the arrival of the white man, they continued to seek out the Great White Deer, the last one being called "Indian Dan" who faithfully returned once a year for several months from 1805 to 1866. No one knew where he came from or where he went, but the owners of the mill always made him feel welcome. Did he see the Great White Deer? It is not recorded, and we do not know.