The grist mill represents a pioneer American industry with a charm and picturesqueness all its own. We are so absorbed in the tumult of mass output that we scarcely realize the part played by the old mills in rearing the cornerstone of our vast industrial activity. The phrase, “horse power,” now geared to myriad millions of units, in all likelihood, began with the horse-operated grist mill. A horse provided the power. The creaking water wheels with their rhythmic splash, were the outposts of the hydroelectric age which has harnessed rivers and falls and wrought marvels of production the world over.
Old Mills, quite a few of which are still in existence, are picturesque reminders of an earlier day and favorite subjects for artists. This is particularly true where the mills were built of stone as was frequently the practice in the eastern part of the country. A limited number of these mills still operate and find a market for their product because many people believe that meal ground between the old-style millstones has a superior quality.
The Old Grist Mill
In the early days of the seventeenth century countless little mills buzzed busily throughout the inhabited part of this country, supplying many of the things essential to the life of the colonists. They were operated by hand power, animal power, and wind and water power. Sometimes the water power was furnished by tides. It is interesting to note that, in their primitive way, they projected the mechanical principles used in present-day industry. The staff, post, wheel, crude pulley, wedge, inclined plane, and screw were all in use. Those pioneers builded well, little dreaming of the wonders that would be unfolded by the industrial revolution.
The grist mill represents a striking evolution in the process of satisfying the hunger of man. The Indians pounded corn in a hollowed rock which was a crude mortar. Peasants all over the globe performed the same kind of service to obtain flour from wheat. It was the earliest hand power era. The Puritans, Cavaliers and Pilgrims probably obtained their first grist in this way. They were familiar with the use of grinding stones in Europe, so it was not long before the grist mill sprang up in the first clearings. As a matter of fact, some of the first millstones in this country were imported from England and France. The first mills were operated by hand or horse power. Then came the familiar water wheels. One of the characteristic features of the old grist mill was its picturesque location.
The old grist mill was a sort of community center for the people of the adjacent countryside. The “jolly miller”, as he has been designated in song and story, like the New England tavern keeper of the Concord coach days, was an important personage. He was a friend and philosopher to all and sundry. His mill, which he often built with his own hands, was a rallying place—a social rendezvous. Here news was gathered and gossip garnered and spread. The mill had a social value akin to that of the old country store with its potbellied stove and cracker barrel. Over this informal country club presided the “jolly miller.” Many poets have sung of his virtues.
Many of the old millers were artisans of the highest skill, full brothers to the builders of the covered bridges, whose craftsmanship perished with them. One of them was Oliver Evans, a noted millwright who lived in Pennsylvania in the late 1700’s. He introduced various innovations. One of them was a tiny elevator with metal cups to carry ground grain from the stones to the bins for storage. Before the advent of these elevators the newly ground meal was ladled out of the pile beneath the millstones with great wooden shovels.
