The Miller’s House
The Miller's House, 2026.
The Miller's House
The Miller’s House
11 East Mill Road, Long Valley, New Jersey 07853
This stone-and-frame house served as the residence of the mill owner, or miller—an important and respected figure in eighteenth-century communities.
The miller’s role extended far beyond operating machinery. Mills were essential to daily life, transforming grain into flour and meal. They also served as local centers of exchange, where farmers brought grain and conducted business.
In 1749, John Philip Weise purchased 262 acres as part of the Logan Tract and established a mill across the street from this property. The success of the mill supported both the household and the surrounding community.
Architectural evidence suggests the house began as a sturdy three-bay, banked stone home, typical of early German building traditions. As the mill prospered, the structure was expanded with additions to the sides and upper levels. What is now a side door once served as the main entrance, distinguished by an elaborate frame. An early roadway once passed behind the house, following higher ground along what is now the driveway.
The Miller's House, circa 1950.
The Miller's House, Side View.
The last millers to own and live on the property were the Hoffman family, who operated the farmstead until it changed hands in the twentieth century.
In 1944, the mill was purchased by Dr. F. M. Eugene Blass for his Eastern Oxygen Therapy Association. An early advocate of oxygen therapy, “Doc Blass” began converting the house into living quarters for patients, though the project remained unfinished at his death in 1967. The property then fell into disrepair for several decades.
In the early 2000s, the house was carefully restored and returned to residential use. In 2021, owners Michael David and Elaine Harris received a Historic Preservation Award for saving the structure “from the brink of destruction.” Today, the property is once again full of life, with the nearby barn in active use and the house serving as a family home.
The Miller's House, Front.
Obadiah LaTourette Grist and Saw Mill
The Old Fort (Philip Weise, Jr. House)
DONATE TO THE WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP HISTORICAL SOCIETY