If you recognize this house, it’s probably because you’ve passed by it a million times on your way through Dickerson.
Mercer Jones (1847-1929) built this home sometime in the late 19th century (likely around 1895, but possibly a bit earlier). In addition to farming his land, Mercer and his son opened a granary east of the Dickerson train depot, shipping tens of thousands of bushels of grain annually from a siding track.
His son Lloyd James Jones. Sr. (1878-1954) added a flour and crushing mill at the site in 1903. The mill (located near the current site of Neutron Products), which cost about $10,000 to build, was the first to be powered by coal-fed steam engines rather than water. (Source: Cuttler. Dickerson. 84: Montgomery County Sentinel. February 3. 1903: U.S. Census Records. 1880. 1900.)
In addition to running the business, Mercer Jones and Son., Mercer served as a night watchman at the Dickerson Quarry site, located in the woods behind Mercer’s house (now abandoned).
