Beginnings

This property sits at a big bend in 6 Mile Creek – 7 miles upstream from Ithaca and 1 mile past the Brookton Market. From the 1820s to the Great Depression, a mill was operated here.

Juanita Breckenridge Bates and Frederick Bates lived here until 1899; she was the first pastor of Brookton and he later became mayor of Ithaca. In fact, Juanita was the first woman to be an ordained minister in America and later in her life she was active in the suffragette movement. They sold the property in 1899 to the Annis family who operated a mill here until the Great Depression.

Ed & Dorothy Buechel lived here 69 years. He continued to make signs for his son’s business (Ithaca Plastics) and lovingly constructed the gazebi and other structures.

Richard Sheiman bought the property at auction during the Pandemic and has been reimagining it since.

Futures

BrooktonEddy is named for a massive eddy in the stream where it makes a big dogleg – multiplied by the dam that was installed across the gorge by the Breckendridge / Bates clan and expanded by the Annis family.

Richard is re-imagining the mill in a way that does not violate DEC regulations, as 6 mile creek remains the primary source for drinking water in the teeming city of Ithaca – precisely 7 miles downstream. It appears to be permissible to generate hydro power from a resurrected sluice and run a grist mill off water power.

Brooktoneddy is also working on a performance space on the second floor of the barn and other improvements.