Van Cortlandt Grist Mill, ca. 1900. The Van Cortlandt saw and gristmill was situated at the southernmost tip of Van Cortlandt Lake. The lake itself was created 1699 when Tibbetts Brook was dammed to power the Van Cortlandt family’s grist mill. The mill survived )perhaps just barely) into the 20th century. It was depicted in various mediums by a number of artists, perhaps inspired by its historic significance and quaint rural look. Sources agree that the grist mill burned down after being struck by lightening, though the year it occurred is variously given as 1900, 1901, or 1911.