Philipsburg Manor

A millstone turned at Philipsburg Manor because Caesar knew how to keep the gristmill working. He was an enslaved man, held in bondage by the Philipse family, and his expertise created wealth for people who claimed ownership of his labor. In the mid-eighteenth century, the mill processed grain from the manor’s tenant farms and sent flour down the Hudson for trade. The machinery tells a story of skill and production; the records make clear who profited and who was denied the fruits of that work.