Quaker Mills located between the village of Mexico and Colosse just off what is now route 69, was the site of a grist mill and saw mill built circa 1811 and owned by Alfred Wells.
Alfred was born in Worcestershire England in 1783 and came with his family to America at ten years of age. Alfred's father, The Reverend William Wells was pastor of a First Congregational Church in Brattleboro, Vermont where son Alfred was employed as a hardware merchant.
Concerned about the morality of selling firearms, Alfred left his job in Vermont and moved to the area, where he bought a farm and nearby mill. Although not a Quaker, Alfred wore clothing and used figures of speech characteristic of Quakers. "Quaker Wells" as he became known, was a devout, benevolent man who advocated emancipation of slaves well before contemporaries took up the cause.
Quaker Mills
The settlement bears the name "Quaker Mills" in honor of Alfred Wells a revered business man of the highest moral integrity.