The restored 1782/1834 Grist Miller’s House in Bethlehem’s Colonial Industrial Quarter has been honored with a Preservation Pennsylvania 2025 Historic Preservation Award. The Construction Award for Rehabilitation Projects will be presented to Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites (HBMS) and its construction partners on October 16 at the Carrie Blast Furnaces in Pittsburgh.
Built in 1782 and expanded in 1834, the Grist Miller’s House was once home to Bethlehem’s mill operator and his family. The building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was shuttered in the mid-2000s due to structural concerns. HBMS launched a major renovation project in 2024, which included extensive repairs and reinforcements. In September 2024, the external steel beams that had supported the structure for two decades were finally removed.
“Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites and its project partners are thrilled to be recognized with this prestigious honor from our peers and colleagues in the historic preservation profession,” said HBMS President & CEO LoriAnn Wukitsch. “This award not only recognizes the quality of our organization’s preservation work but also reinforces HBMS’s leadership in safeguarding America’s early industrial heritage and Bethlehem’s unique historic treasures. We thank all of the donors and supporters who have helped to make this important revitalization project possible.”
Artefact’s Christine Ussler, lead architect for the project, added: “We are thrilled to see the project receive this recognition. It’s so meaningful for Historic Bethlehem to have this long-vacant building restored and to see it in use as a venue to celebrate the colonial industries that played such a vital role in Bethlehem’s history.”
Reopened in April 2025, the Grist Miller’s House now serves as a gateway to the Colonial Industrial Quarter, once home to about 35 trades and industries in the mid-1700s. Visitors can tour the house on Saturdays from 2–4 p.m. and join the Birthplace of Industry Tour on Fridays and Saturdays at 11 a.m. The site also hosts educational programming, including HBMS’s new Artist Workshop Series, with upcoming sessions on wood carving (Oct. 11), engraving (Oct. 25), and redware sgraffito (Nov. 1).
For more information on programs and visiting, go to Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites.
