Phillips' Mill was built in 1756
by Aaron Phillips as a water powered grist mill. It also
served as an informal community center for the local farmers
and their families. Three generations of the family lived
on the property prior to the purchase of the mill and
adjoining farm in 1894 by artist William Lathrop. Lathrop's
home and the mill studio emerged as the intellectual center
of a growing community of artists, whose rigorous discussions
of aesthetics, philosophy, and politics became well-known.
Besides Lathrop, artists such as Daniel Garber, Edward
Redfield, John Folinsbee, and Walter Schofield together
with their lesser known contemporaries, Fern Coppedge,
Walter Baum and Clarence Johnson formed the New Hope School.
The New Hope group exhibited together in the United States
and Europe, most notably between 1916 and 1918.
In 1929 a committee headed by Charles Marshall purchased
the mill, and the Phillips' Mill Community Association
was born. The art committee was quickly formed and immediately
established an annual, juried
Art Exhibition. In addition, a Forum
was established for the discussion of civic interests,
continuing the precedents set during the Lathrop era.
The Drama Committee produces
plays and readings for both adults and young people. In
1993 a juried, annual Photographic
Exhibition was inaugurated. These and other activities
are organized and directed by volunteers from the Mill's
membership. The Association is responsible for the preservation
of the Phillips' Mill Historic District whose 28 acres
are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
