• Feb 1834 - Deeds for the superintendent's house only trace back to 1834, but the mill pond powered mills nearby prior to the Revolutionary War
• Apr 1865 - George Wood sold to David Perham, Levi Howard, Benjamin Fiske, and Edwin Parkhurst doing business as the Chelmsford Mill Co.
• Apr 1884 - David Perham sold to Edwin and Lewis Dutton who did business as the Dutton Brothers

Circa 1885, Edwin and Lewis Dutton superintendent's house and mill (negative courtesy of Henry Parlee, from the estate of Edwin Dutton at 143 Pine Hill Road, colorized by FM)

Circa 1890, Dutton Brothers Saw and Grist Mill (Historical Society photo bbh477, colorized by FM)

1896, Mill counting house on Cushing Street, Eben Adams and Family (Historical Society glass negative 2009.9.10025, colorized by FM)

• May 1899 - Nellie Parker (Guardian of Lewis Dutton) sold to Herbert Sweetser
• Mar 1902 - Herbert Sweetser sold a ½ undivided interest to George Day, forming the Sweetser and Day Company
• Jan 1909 - Herbert Sweetser sold the remaining ½ interest to George Day
• Apr 1920 - George Day sold to William Dobbins
• Aug 1923 - The grist and sawmill was demolished, and salvaged lumber was used in construction of the J. Cushing storehouse on the other side of Cushing Place, below the dam, and next to the railroad tracks

Lowell Courier-Citizen, August 30, 1923

• May 1943 - William and Blanche Dobbins sold to Daniel and Augusta Haley
• Jun 1943 - Daniel and Augusta Haley sold to Ruby Emery, who opened the Old Mill House Food Shop

Circa 1943, Ruby Emery next to the Old Mill House she purchased in June, 1943 (Historical Society photo 2010.3.71, colorized by FM)

Circa 1945, Rose Meserve and Ruby Emery (posted on Facebook by Susan Alves, colorized by FM)

• Jul 1947 - Ruby Emery opened the Old Mill House Tea Room two doors down in the old house known as "the Ark"

Chelmsford Newsweekly, November 18, 1948

Chelmsford Newsweekly, April 7, 1949 pages 1&4     

Chelmsford Newsweekly, June 5, 1952

Newsweekly 1955 Tercentennary Edition, People section 

Chelmsford Newsweekly, June 7, 1956

• Nov 1972 - The Old Mill House Bakery closed but Ruby continued to reside in the building

Chelmsford Newsweekly, November 30, 1972

• Feb 1979 - Central Square was flooded as Beaver Brook backed up at the Cushing Place bridge

Chelmsford Newsweekly, February 1, 1979

Chelmsford Newsweekly, June 21, 1979

Chelmsford Newsweekly, October 8, 1992

• Apr 1994 -A warrant article scheduled for vote at an April 28 special town meeting would authorize the Board of Selectmen to purchase the Old Mill House, by eminent domain if necessary, for construction of 20 parking spaces. Many residents were strongly opposed to the plan, and the town meeting reps voted it down

Chelmsford Independent, April 21, 1994 page 1

Chelmsford Independent, April 21, 1994 page 12

Chelmsford Independent, April 28, 1994

Chelmsford Independent, May 5, 1994 page 1

Chelmsford Independent, May 5, 1994 page 10

• Jan 1996 - Ruby Emery sold the mill house to Ruby's sister Alice Henkel on January 10, Ruby died on January 15, and Alice sold the building to the present owner John Handley Ill on January 26. "Jack" Handley began a restoration of the Old Mill House
• May 1998 - Jack Handley received the Chelmsford Historical Society Guardian Award for his restoration work

Chelmsford Independent, May 7, 1998 page 1

Chelmsford Independent, May 7, 1998 page 13

• Feb 1999 - The Ayotte Home Improvement Gallery occupied the Old Mill House

Chelmsford Independent, February 4, 1999 Page 4

Chelmsford Independent, February 4, 1999 page 15

• Nov 1999 - Thomas Newcomb, Attorney at Law, relocated to the Old Mill House

Chelmsford Independent, November 4, 1999

Chelmsford Independent, January 31, 2002

September 6, 2004, Newcomb & Associates LLC, Attorneys at Law (photo by FM)

• Jul 2006 - Cathy Ruggiero, doing business as Candlelite Quilts, occupied the Old Mill House

Chelmsford Independent, July 27, 2006 page 1

Chelmsford Independent, July 27, 2006 page 10

October 10, 2009, Candlelite Quilts providing classes, fabrics, and supplies (photo by FM)

• Apr 2014 - Colleen Ferry, doing business as the Chantilly Place bridal boutique, occupied the Old Mill House

Chelmsford Independent, April 17, 2014 page A3

Chelmsford Independent, April 17, 2014 page A3

August 2, 2013, Chantilly Place (photo by FM)

• Apr 2018 - Carissa Campbell, Eileen DeChaves, and Sara Hesselton opened the Artisans Exchange in the Old Mill House

CHELMSFORD - Looking for artisanal soap, or perhaps a cute tutu and unicorn headband for your child or grandchild? Or maybe you're looking for a unique gift for that friend or relative who loves everything local and handmade. From crocheted mermaid tails and medieval metalwork to spicy pepper jams and teacup gnome gardens, the Artisans Exchange has a bit of everything for everyone.

Opened partners and friends Carissa Campbell, Eileen DeChaves and Sara Hesselton, the new business aims to help local artisans sell their wares and exchange skills and ideas. "We really just want this to be a great, cool community space where people think, 'Oh, I need a gift, let me go to the Artisans Exchange. I need to learn something or I want to learn something, I know I can learn it there,' and just to have good collaboration between our artisans and the people in Chelmsford," said Campbell.

The three Chelmsford residents said they've always loved the 1650s Mill House at the corner of Central Square and Cushing Place, which has held a number of businesses over the years from bakery to bridal shop. When Chantilly Place left for its new Princeton Street location and they saw the for-lease signs go up, Campbell, DeChaves and Hesselton saw the perfect opportunity to create the craft shop of their dreams.

Each brings unique skills and crafts to the business. Campbell's specialty is creating cute children's clothing, costumes and accessories. A physical therapist by day and crafter by night, DeChaves is the one behind the fun crocheted mermaid tails, owl purses and doughnut pillows. Hesselton is the jeweler, creating medieval woven-metal chains and other silver and gemstone adornments. Their grand opening April 14 was a resounding success. So many people attended, "there were points in the day when you couldn't walk through the building," Hesselton said. The shop operates on a consignment model, selling loaned items on a commission basis.

The Artisans Exchange currently holds 31 contracts with a wide variety of artisans and crafters from around the region, from painters and photographers to stained-glass artists and pottery makers. They're open to adding more, provided their wares are high-quality, don't overlap too much with others' and space is available to house them.

Campbell said they're fine with hosting artisans who work in the same medium, but they must be stylistically different. She and DeChaves both crochet, for instance, but they make very different items. "We want a big diversity," DeChaves said. "That's why we have so many artisans." Over the next few months, they plan to assemble a varied list of classes exploring different media and art forms, Campbell said.

Knitting and crocheting circles and sewing and drawing classes are already on the schedule, but they hope to add more geared toward both adults and children. They also plan to have meet-the-artisan nights so people can learn about and see more of the artists' work. "We want art to be accessible to everybody," Hesselton said. "Some people think of art as this fancy thing that's just unattainable, but it's not. Anybody can make art, anybody can appreciate art, and we just want to help bring that forth."

March 27, 2020, The Artisans Exchange (photo by FM)

• Aug 2020 - The Old Mill House Coffee shop opened in the Artisans Exchange

August 9, 2020, (Posted on the Old Mill House Coffee Facebook page)

November 3, 2021, Old Mill House Coffee cafe and boutique (photo by FM)

January 29, 2022, Old Mill House Coffee (posted on Facebook by Eileen DeChaves)