Hamlet History, Part 3 (Center Mills, Flora Dale, Gardners, Guernsey)

Center Mills

Originally called Menallen

The existing mill was built by Henry Duttera in 1821

The mill has served as a grist mill, saw mill, distillery, and a hemp mill

Source: Tidbits, History, Morsels by Larry Kennedy 2009

Flora Dale

Once called Wrightsville

Located south of Bendersville between Quaker Meeting House and Quaker Valley Road

An unincorporated community, no longer recognized as a census-designated place. The population at the last census in 2010 was 38.

Had a post office from 1861 to 1957

The Menallen Meetinghouse moved here from Butler Township in 1938.
Sources: Wikipedia; Tidbits, History, Morsels by Larry Kennedy; A History of Adams County, Pennsylvania 1700-1990 by Robert L. Bloom; Library of Congress

Gardners/Gardners Station

Land obtained by the Reading Railroad in 1898 for a station between Harrisburg and Gettysburg
Station opened in 1912 for both passengers and freight
CH Musselman built the food processing plant in 1912
Gardners Station had a post office until Gardners Post Office was opened in 1913
From Harry Gardner’s essay Village of Gardners (06/06/89)
-Cal Griest built the store and ran it. He sold it to Harry Meals. Harry Meals sold to Ed Motter. Ed Motter sold to his son, Tom. Tom sold it to Linda Tyson Goens (Gardner’s Market).
-Uriah Gardner built the original feed mill and post office. When Myers sold the buildings to Zigler Bros. the post office was moved down to the old creamery. Grove Myers made that into living quarters in the back and the post office in the front. Now the old post office building is owned and used as a supply room by Zeigler’s Mill.
-Clair Heikes built the Post Office and rented it to the state.

Sources: Wikipedia; Gettysburg Times 3/4/66; Tidbits, History, Morsels by Larry Kennedy; History of Adams County 1700-1990 by Robert L. Bloom, Harry Gardner’s essay 06/06/89

Guernsey

Originally called Sunnyside

In 1884, the railroad tracks were laid to connect Gettysburg to Harrisburg

Renamed Guernsey in 1884 in honor of the cows being bred there

Former home of Quaker Valley Country Club, the first country club in Adams County, built in 1920 and closed in the early 1950’s. In 1943, the country club building housed a weaving loom factory that manufactured looms that could be used by “maimed” and “shocked” soldiers, including one that could be operated while laying in bed. The factory was owned by Milo Gallinger. His wife, Osma ran the Loma Vista Weaving School in a nearby house owned by the Benson family. It was hoped this operation would help in the post-war economic recovery by providing jobs and home-operated businesses. – The Gettysburg Times October 6, 1943

Sources: Gettysburg Times 9/8/1920, 10/6/1943, 1/6/1988