View of the gristmill from across Dogue Run Creek. In 1771 George Washington constructed a large gristmill at Dougue Run Farm. Washington changed from tobacco to wheat as a cash crop in the 1760's and needed the gristmill to process this wheat and corn into flour and meal. In 1791, Washington installed the automated flour mill system invented by Oliver Evans. This system greatly improved the milling process and made Washington's mill more productive. This restored Evans system is the only working example in the U. S. today. I have more pictures of the mill that I hope the hubby got that I did not. I have lots more to post on George Washington's, distillery and his home that we visited in Mount Vernon, Virginia. I will not be posting for the rest of this week. I need to take a quick trip out to see my sick step-father. When I do get back I will post more on the tour that the hubby and I took.
The top picture is of the Gristmill, the second is the water wheel that they use for power to run the big wheel grinders to mill the whole corn and wheat, the bottom picture could of been better but you can see where the corn was ground into cornmeal. We actually bought some cornmeal that was made at the gristmill.
Hope you all have a good week.
5 comments:
Very cool, I love history and stone buildings so this fits perfect. Cant wait to hear more about the trip. Hope the step father heals up quickly and have a good trip there.
How cool! I would love to live back east...the history there is outstanding. Thank you for sharing!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
Fascinating! Thanks for posting this!
very interesting Lisa..I look forward to hearing more about your adventures.
I hope you have a safe trip and I am thinking good thoughts about your Step Father:)
The Yates gristmill (circa 1760) in Raleigh, NC also has a working Oliver Evans automation system.
Post a Comment