A
Mill Thrif and Mill Bill
There were many sources of native millstones in the American continent,
however,
no stone had ever been discovered to equal the French Burr stone and
in most
American mills, French stones would be found in addition to native stones.
From
Mount Tom, which overlooks Connecticut Valley, came the quartz shot sandstone
millstone for the early settlements in that area. Across Long Island
Sound in
Long Island, many of the mills there also used stones from Connecticut.
In New York State, millstones were quarried at several locations. A
few complete
and incomplete millstones can still be seen at the old quarry working
in an area
known as the Traps, near High Falls in Ulster County. The stones from
this area
were known as Esopus millstones and were cut from deposits of Shawangunk
Conglomerate Grit. The Esopus Millstone Company, who were successors
to the Bell
Millstone Company, had their headquarters at No. 8 Wall Street, Kingston,
New
York. In advertisements in the milling trade journals, they described
their
operations as:
Manufacturers of the Well-Known Esopus Millstones. Runners, Beds, Rollers,
and
Chasers. Blocks for Glaze Pans, Paving and Color Mills and other kinds
used by
Millers, Mill Manufacturers. Paint and Chemical Mills. Potteries and
China
works.
The granite from the well known quarries at Westerly in Rhode Island
and from
quarries in New Hampshire provided many of the stones used in New England
mills.
One of the largest collections of millstones in New England, can be seen
at
Millstone Manor, a private house in Shore Road, Ogunquit, Maine. Here,
there are
reputed to be more than seventy stones as used for grain grinding and
other
industrial processes. A type of stone similar to the French Burr was
discovered
in Arkansas in about 1870 but does not appear to have been extensively
used.
There were millstone quarries at Bowmanstown, Carbon County, Lancaster
County
and Berkshire County, all in Pennsylvania. Near Marietta in Ohio, a suitable
kind of stone for milling purposes was quarried for many years. Quarries
were
also worked to produce millstones in Virginia and a quartz bearing granite
was
used for millstones from quarries in Rowan County, North Carolina. In
fact,
there were probably millstones quarries in most areas where there was
a suitable
hard stone and where grain milling was carried on to any extent. The
size of
these native millstones varied from less than two feet and up to seven
feet in
diameter. When new, these stones would vary from about eight inches to
thirty
inches in thickness and the largest stones would weigh more than 3,500
pounds.
In modern times, millstones are made of artificial stone. Emery type
grit of a
varying texture is mixed with a special kind of cement and poured into
molds,
which are, of course, of any desired size. These modern millstones have
many
advantages, notably, that they are always sharp; when dressing is required,
only
the furrows have to be deepened and the area around the eye faced off
a little.
The output of these stones is also considerably higher for the amount
of power
consumed. In England and on the European continent, there are still a
few firms
which still do a fairly extensive business in the manufacture of these
modern
millstones.
This page is
presented by Theodore R. Hazen & Pond
Lily Mill Restorations
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