Wilson got on board with my request to visit a water powered grist mill a little more than an hour away from our house. The mill only grinds on Saturday but you can drop by any day for a look around and to purchase cornmeal, grits, or flour on the honor system. (They also mill wheat.) You can buy white or yellow grits or cornmeal.
We took a right at Jerusalem and then had to drive 6 more miles down a country road. It was lovely.
**When I attempted to upload the photos they rearranged themselves. I tried again to get them in correct order but this new blog upgrade has a mind of its own. So I gave up.
Here are just some of what I snapped this morning.
In no particular order...
The old building is not the original housing for the grist mill. Fire, floods, and tornadoes have happened over the years. This building is old, it lists to the south, and is filled with every kind of old implant and horse shoe that you can imagine. Tour at your own risk. Some of the little planks are iffy.
This box holds the water that powers the mill. It is low in the photo.
After Mr. Sciple lifted the gate it filled rapidly.
A pair of older gentlemen drove over from Gainstown, AL with a van of corn to be milled. Thy paid using the toll system. The proprietor of the mill gets 1/8 of the corn milled. The other option is to pay $3 per bushel to have your corn milled. Mr. Sciple measured their corn in 1/2 bushel containers and drew out his 1/8 before loading the corn into the wood tub at the top of the mill. The corn would go down a center opening and land between the two huge stones where it was ground. He operated a wheel that regulated how fine the corn was ground thus producing grits or meal. He then sifted the chaff and just dumped that out on the floor. He would sweep that up later and feed it to his goats.
History.
Across the street from the mill is the Mill Opry. Every first and third Saturday night they have music. All are welcome. No smoking. So alcohol.
Hope you have found a little fun in your weekend.
Shalom.
