millstones-dutch-kills-green-queens

Remember those historic millstones we told you about last September? There are two of them – probably from around the mid-1600s – and they’ve been sitting in the Dutch Kills Green, a pedestrian plaza near Queens Plaza. Local preservationists recently learned that a chunk broke off of one of the stones, where a crack had been earlier. It’s possible that the damage was due to being out in the harsh winter weather we experienced this year. Parks believes that it was the result of a previous relocation.

Bob Singleton, executive director of the Greater Astoria Historical Society, said, “They are not going to last much longer while exposed to the elements.” They’d really like the millstones to be inside somewhere, where they are protected. As a result, the GAHS is going to again start up their campaign to do just that.

The millstones look nice in the plaza, but as historic artifacts, there is a logic to keeping them someplace that is climate controlled. Too much heat, cold, and/or moisture can cause materials to expand and shrink, and eventually cause damage. Here’s to getting these historic objects someplace safe.

Centuries-old historic artifact damaged in busy Queens Plaza [NYDN]
Those historic millstones in Queens Plaza will be given a sign [QNYC]


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