The waterwheel operated flour mill is a 1/3 scale replica that uses wooden gears to stone grind flour. Early mills were almost always built and supported by farming communities. Typically a percentage of each farmer’s grain called a “miller’s toll” was set aside for the miller in lieu of wages. Families came from as far away as Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to the mills in the Des Moines River Valley.
Pictured above is a Clipper Fanning Mill which was used for cleaning grain. The picture below shows how gears worked to turn the grinding stones.
These large mill grinding stones were found buried on the Lilleberg farm north of Jackson and donated to Fort Belmont for display.
