As demolition of Thistle Mill is nearing the end after it started more than two months ago , I went back this weekend to say what would perhaps be a final farewell to this historic mill in Ilchester which had been a small mill town community for many years. A sense of sadness came over me when I looked and photographed what still remains. In this last chapter of Thistle Mills history I decided it would be fitting to write a page on its history and post many of my photos I have taken in the last couple of years.
For more than 150 years this old mill has been a familiar site to many of us in the Patapsco River Valley area. Located about two miles from Ellicott City and Catonsville, it was among many of the mills that at one time thrived and operated in the area. But like many of the other mills in the area it will soon be a memory with the soon to be final demise of the mill. Demolition almost complete. What will become of the site? It is not known yet, but there are many of us who are hopeful that perhaps the large piece of land might be sold to the State Dept. of the Environment to become a part of the Patapsco State Park system, a nice green space perhaps? Would hope that the property that overlooks the Patapsco River would not get into the hands of developers , Putting up something that would ruin the area.
For some these abandoned ruins were a dangerous eyesore, but for many others such as myself that loved this old place it was a fascinating place and a big part of our areas history. Exploring, photographing and imagining what life was like in its heyday of this old mill community with its hardworking families trying to make a living in hard times. Founded by two Scottish Merchants it was operating by 1824. The mills given name Thistle was Scotlands national emblem at the time. Thistle also a name used for various plants too.. One hundred acres was purchased from John Ellicott who had hoped it would become a flour mill, but that wouldnt be the case as it would open up as a cotton mill. Through the years as ownership changed its production would change again and would produce silk, fabric, thread etc and back to cotton again. In 1922 production switched again when Bartgis Bros. purchased the mill and their production into a paper and cardboard mill. Bartgis Bros after owning and operating the mill for many years then sold the property in 1958 to Simkins INC. who still own the property. (It is interesting to note that the Bartgis Bros name still remained on the building until its recent demolition.) Simkins operated it as a paper/cardboard recycling plant for more than 40 years , closing in 2003 after a bad fire destroyed much of it. The fires, a long state of abandonement, vandals, and the elements began to take its toll on the historic mill and its time has come to be torn down . Before Thistle Mill closed in 2003 it was still one of two mills operating in the area. I was hoping that at least part of it was going to be saved and incorporated in the parks long history, like the many areas in the Patapsco State Park where evidence of some of the other old mills are noticeable with some ruins still around such as Grays Mill, Daniels, Orange Grove etc. and the historical markers in place where these places were. Hopefully there will be at least a historical marker in place to show that Thistle Mill was there too.
