Grist Mills: What a Grind

Grist Mills: What a Grind. . The Old Mill operates using an ancient technology - the grist mill - and the power of falling water, an energy resource as old as time. Amazingly, the water-powered grist mill technique is just as effective today as it was in ancient Rome 2,000 years ago. , Here's how it works: , River water flowing over a 24-foot water wheel makes the wheel turn. The wheel doesn't turn the stone, but does turn a shaft that is attached to machinery inside the mill. In a grist mill, the primary machinery is a pair of giant millstones. , , Two enormous mill stones crush grain between them to grind corn into meal or wheat into flour. The top stone rotates slowly and crushes the grain against the bottom stone, which remains still. , , The millstones here are French Buhrs - flint granite, imported in 1830 from the south of France and they weigh about 2,300 pounds each. The stones used today are only the second set in the life of the mill. The original stones, shipped to the Carolinas and dragged across the Smoky Mountains on a sled, were replaced in 1977 after about 147 years of grinding. , , The timbers used to construct The Old Mill are all native Smoky Mountain trees. The cross beams are hand-hewn hemlock. The floors are heart pine. The massive support beams of yellow poplar under the mill are 40 feet long and 14" x 14" square, and they sit on pillars made of river rocks. The posts and beams are held together with square, handmade nails. , , Using millstones weighing 2,000 pounds each, The Old Mill can grind about 300 pounds of corn meal in an hour. , , At The Old Mill, the big waterwheel you see in the river powers the grain elevators. Underwater, two more waterwheels - powerful cast-iron tub wheels lying flat instead of upright - harness the river's flow to turn the heavy millstone. , , From 1921 to 1929, the waterwheels of The Old Mill also helped generate electricity for nearby homes and businesses like Watson's Restaurant (note the single light bulb in the top photo). Pigeon Forge Power and Light charged a flat $1.25 a month, no matter how much electricity you used., Captions , (Photo #1) Watson Restaurant (Photo Courtesy of the Pigeon Forge Public Library)