TAYLOR MILL HISTORICAL SITE 🏞️

📍 Location Derry, New Hampshire (about 25–30 min from Exeter) Inside Ballard State Forest 🏛️ What it is A preserved late-1700s/early-1800s water-powered sawmill Built around 1799 by Robert Taylor It’s an “up-and-down” sawmill — an old vertical blade system that’s now super rare 🌲 What you can do there Walk easy trails around Ballard Pond (~0.4 mile loop) See the historic mill (sometimes running on demo days) Picnic, fish, or just chill by the water Take aesthetic photos — it’s a low-key hidden gem 🛠️ Cool history fact The original mill didn’t survive, but a man named Ernest Ballard rebuilt one in the 1900s using historic parts and donated it to NH in 1953