SANTA IS COMING TO THE MILL to Help Toys For Tots – Saturday December 6, 2025. 1 to 4 pm. Bring a toy , bring the family . Ho-Ho wait, that’s the guy! Santa Claus, red suit and white beard sparkling with frost, crash lands his sleigh on Saturday, December 6th, 1 to 4 pm. Plus a mystery guest !!! The Toys for Tots program will be collecting unwrapped toys for later gifting. Come by for a visit with Santa, sip some soothing hot chocolate and enjoy light refreshments. Kids of all ages will enjoy storytelling and games in the historic mill
UPCOMING EVENTS IN 2026
Annual Creek Sojourn 2026 , Saturday April 25. A 10 mile paddle in canoes and kayaks on the Conodoguinet Creek Water Trail. Boats are available for rent. The put in is the bridge on Graham’s Woods Road about a mile upstream from the Mill. After portaging around the mill and visiting the Mill’s interior, paddlers will complete the sojourn in 3 hours to N. Middleton Park takeout. See the Sojourn section below for more information and registration forms.
Saturday May 9, 2026 10 am to 2 pm. Introduction to fishing the Conodoguinet. FHHM Board Members are offering this free program primarily for young anglers, but all are welcome. We will have fishing equipment available. Bring the family and come out and enjoy the creek.
Annual Wilhelm Schimmel Carvers Expo- Saturday June 13, 2026 9 to 4 pm. Join us for a day honoring the art and tradition of the most famous of Cumberland County Carvers. While not many today are carving in the Schimmel style, his work has inspired many to start carving and to find their own niche with things like caricatures, birds, animals, Santas, etc. Carvers will be displaying their creations as well as selling these unique pieces of art. The Expo will also include 10 minute talks on a variety of subjects including Schimmel, his stay at the Mill and local history.
Friends of Historic Heishman’s Mill Completes a Structural and Interpretative Survey of the Mill November 2025
Our Consultants Tony Shahan and Rick Frunzi recently completed a very comprehensive structural and interpretative survey of the Mill structure. They provided very specific phased projects to insure the stability of the Mill in the future and to increase public and interpretive use of the Mill as an educational center. FHHM would like to thank the National Trust for Historic Preservation, The South Mountain Partnership and the Society for the Preservation of Old Mills (SPOOM) for their grant support. Thanks also to our generous local supporters who care greatly about preserving the history of our area. Details of the survey, structural sketches and a comprehensive Photo Survey of the Mill can be found on the page entitled Heishman’s Mill Structural Survey and Interpretive Plan.
Fish Habitat and Portage: RIBBON CUTTING AND OPEN HOUSE November 14, 2024
The rain held off just long enough for us to enjoy the Ribbon Cutting celebrating the completion of the Portage Project and Fish Habitat. Shown above from left to right are FHHM board members Davis Tracy, Vice President, Vern Graham, Treasurer, Ed Franco, President . Cutting the ribbon is Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn from DCNR, Drew Dehoff, Exec. Dir. of SRBC, Representative Barb Gleim, and Tim Schaeffer , Exec. Dir of the PAFBC. FHHM received primary funding from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Boating Facilities Program, and from DCNR’s rivers program, along with a mini grant from SRBC to fund construction of the portage and launch.
Comments and congratulations were shared by our important guests. Approximately 60 neighbors, members, contractors and invited county and local officials also attended. Brief tours of the interior of the Mill were offered along with some local cider and cookies. Check out our Portage Project Page for additional photos of the completed project.
The Mill owners, Randy and Angie Heishman have been actively involved in the planning for this project and generously donated a 27 year recreational easement. FHHM has agreed to maintain the improvements over the life span of these improvements.
JOIN OUR DYNAMIC ORGANIZATION
Ways to get involved
FHHM welcomes new members, volunteers, as well as those who may be interested in serving on a committee or on the Board of Directors.
Members are welcome at all events and will be kept informed of news and special events via email. Please consider becoming a member.
Monthly Board of Directors Meetings
Next Monthly Board Meeting, Tuesday July 15. 2025 at 4 pm at the Mill, 1206 Creek Road, Carlisle, Pa. 17015. Contact Board President Ed Franco 717 576 7498 (edwardalexanderfranco@gmail.com) for more information and to receive an agenda. All are welcome.
Annual Creek Sojourn
CONDOGUINET CREEK (Class 1 ) 2025 SOUJOURN HEISHMAN’S MILL to NORTH MIDDLETON PARK: Saturday April 26, 2025, 9 am at the Mill
The 2025 Heishman’s Mill Sojourn is a 10 mile adventure on the Conodoguinet Creek, Class 1 water, from the Heishman’s Mill Portage and Put In to North Middleton Park. A brief presentation of the Heishman’s Mill History will precede the put-in. Safety personnel will be introduced to the sojourners, and a Safety Briefing given, prior to the launching of water craft. The duration of the trip will be approximately 3 hours, Waterfowl species will be described to paddlers before starting the sojourn, and courtesy suggestions for accommodating fishermen will be presented. Food and refreshments will be provided at the end of the paddle at North Middleton Park picnic area. A shuttle will be provided back to the Mill to retrieve your vehicle.
We filled up quickly in 2023 and 2024! “History and a Sojourn? What could be better?”
All paddlers will meet at Heishman’s Mill 1206 Creek Road Carlisle on the day of the Sojourn.
General Information .
$30/person with own kayak or canoe.
A canoe or kayak can be rented for $25 with advance registration.
Watercraft type & Length_(e.g.canoe 17’)__________________________ or Rented (_____)
PFDs (Life Jackets) are required, and must be worn on the Sojourn. Shuttle service will be provided to all paddlers so you can have access to your vehicle at Heishman’s Mill at the end of the day on the Creek.
Post Sojourn Refreshments: Pizza and soft drinks served at North Middleton Park.
FOLK ART WOOD CARVING EXPO. Sat. June 28, 2025 9am to 4pm SPIRIT OF SCHIMMEL WOOD CARVING EXPO A HUGE SUCCESS
246 visitors came from near and far to participate in our Spirit of Schimmel wood carving expo and see the Mill. Nine carvers demonstrated their craft and their unique pieces, which were also for sale. The event was inspired by the work of Wilhelm Schimmel, an itinerant folk art wood carver who lived and worked in the area in the late 1800s. Schimmel was a personal friend of John Greider who owned the Mill from 1868 to 1896. The Cumberland County Historical Society has a number of Schimmel carvings on display. Friends of Historic Heishman’s Mill wish to thank the Cumberland County Historical Society for their help and encouragement to offer this free public expo and educational event at the mill.
Jay and Leigh Ann Ouellette, living history professionals from Stonehouse History helped participants “step back in time” to the period when Schimmel was at the Mill.
We would also like to thank all of the carvers for their enthusiastic support and interest. Andy VanBrookhoven, Daniel Strawser, Jim Small, Paul Hoch, Patrick Weddle, Karl Pass, and James and Joan Hiser displayed Schimmel like reproductions as well as a wide variety of hand carved characters and animals. Glenn Carson, displayed his intricately carved Banjo Necks and entertained participants with a variety of fiddle tunes.
Water-Powered Mills of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Cumberland County Historical Society, Page 115 …. ” During Greider’s ownership, Wilhelm Schimmel (1817-1890), a German itinerant woodcarver, came to be housed at the Greider property. Schimmel used the mill as his “”home base”” and the site for his carving. He would leave and then return after wandering away to various known and at times unknown destinations. Presumably, some of the wood he used for his carvings would have been “”picked up”” at the Greider saw mill. Regarded as the modern equivalent of a vagrant, Schimmel is now famous. … notable examples can be viewed at the Cumberland County Historical Society, as well as in major American museum collections.”
Mill tours will be arranged on a regular basis in the near future. Please stay tuned.
