Aston Township.

mill until his death, about 1816, when the property descended to his sons, Charles and William Lungren. The latter rented the premises for several years, and in 1825 sold the estate to Peter Hill, who built a cotton-mill thereon thirty-five by fifty-five feet, three stories in height, and the same year conveyed the estate to William Martin and Joseph W. Smith. It was the new proprietor who gave to the locality the name it now bears, - Lenni, - for William Martin, who operated the factory, called it Lenni Mills. At that time the paper-mill - two vats - was operated by John B. Duckett, who manufactured weekly sixty reams of quarto-post paper and thirty-three reams of printing-paper. Martin indorsed heavily for a friend. The latter carried Martin with him in his bankruptcy, and on Aug. 25, 1827, the premises were sold by the sheriff, Mrs. Ann Sellers, the mother-in-law of Peter Hill, becoming the purchaser, as trustee of Hannah S. Hill, her daughter. David Lamotte & Sons thereupon rented the mill. It appears that a new factory was erected on the property, for on Dec. 30, 1845, a stone mill and drying-house at Lenni took fire, and was entirely consumed. The mill had been used as a store-house and machine-shop, and at the time of its destruction did not contain a large stock of goods. The following year, May, 1846, Lamotte exhibited "Ashland tickings," made by him at the Lenni Mills, at the National Fair, Washington, D. C., which article received special mention. In 1850, Peter Hill died, and Lamotte removed from Lenni to Wilmington, Del., where he died, Sept. 20, 1877, aged ninety-six years. The mills were then rented to Gen. Robert Patterson, and the stone mansion-house erected by John Lungren was occupied by Robert L. Martin, Patterson's agent. In 1873, Joseph Kenworthy became the superintendent of the Lenni Mills, and continued there until 1882, when they were closed. They are now idle. The road leading from Lenni Mills to Lenni is still called the Lungren road.

Crozerville Mills. - The land on which the Crozerville mill now stands was owned in 1810 by John Rattew, having been in the possession of his ancestors for three generations. On December 24th of that year he entered into an article of agreement with Isaac Bottomley, a clothier of Concord, granting on certain conditions ten acres of land on Chester Creek, "touching both branches so as to take in a mill-seat." On this tract Isaac Bottomley erected a woolen-mill, and on July 1, 1811, John and Thomas Bottomley, also clothiers of Concord, purchased from Isaac Bottomley an interest in the business and the agreement with Rattew. On Jan. 25, 1812, John Rattew conveyed the title of the property to Isaac, John, and Thomas Bottomley. During the second war with England the factory made considerable money for it owners, but with the return of peace the shrinkage in values embarrassed the Bottomley Brothers, and the difficulties were increased by the death of John and Thomas at different times. By various proceedings in court the title to the property was finally vested in the survivor, Isaac Bottomley. Innumerable troubles crossed his path until he could stem the tide no longer, and on April 2,1824, Sheriff Joseph Weaver, Jr., sold the personal property in the factory. The machines thus disposed of consisted of "one carding machine, one spinning Billy of forty spindles, two spinning Jennys, one of eighty and the other of forty spindles, one Picker, three weaving Looms, with reeds and gears, and other articles not enumerated." This factory was noted in its days, hence we publish the list of machinery contained therein that it may be seen how vast is the change sixty years has wrought in manufacturing in our county. On the 2d of April, 1826, Isaac Bottomley sold the real estate to John B. Duckett, which sale included the mill and fourteen acres of land. Duckett at the time he purchased the property was operating a small paper-mill on the Lenni estate (already mentioned), then owned by William Martin and Joseph W. Smith. Shortly after the purchase Duckett built a paper-mill, thirty by eighty-six feet, three stories in height, on this site, taking the power to drive the machinery from the West Branch. In 1837, he having failed, the mill property was transferred to the Bank of Delaware County, at which time there was on the estate, besides the mill, a mansion-house, nine tenements, and a store building. In 1838 that institution conveyed the property to John P. Crozer, who in the following year erected the present stone mill, fifty-three by one hundred and fifty-six feet, and three stories in height. Mr. Crozer operated this mill until his death, in 1866, when it was conducted by Samuel A. Crozer for one year, at the expiration of which time he associated Samuel C. Lewis in the business under the firm-name of Crozer & Lewis. In 1875, Mr. Lewis withdrew from the firm, and Crozer conducted it till 1881, when he rented the mill to his son-in-law, the present proprietor, William H. H. Robinson. The difference of the two periods in the development of our manufacturing interest is noticeable when we contrast the number of spindles used by Isaac Bottomley, one hundred and sixty, and find that the present mill today requires five thousand in the manufacture of cotton yarns exclusively.

West Branch Cotton Mills. - Between 1790 and 1795, Aaron Mattson built a stone mill, on the west branch of Chester Creek, which he operated as a paper-mill until 1824, when, becoming involved, the premises were taken in execution, and on Dec. 6, 1824, was sold by the sheriff to John P. Crozer. The latter, in speaking of this estate, says, "I bought the little mill-seat with an old rickety building and over one hundred and eighty acres of land, for seven thousand three hundred and thirty dollars. My kind brother, J. Lewis, again aided me in raising the money. I mortgaged to Thomas Woodward for four thousand dollars and borrowed the balance as best I