Grind Slowly

“Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small”.
–Retribution - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

On the Coat of Arms for the Township of Stanbridge the words “Grind Slowly” appear below the emblazoned shield. The dictum may make you think back to a bygone era when life progressed at a slower pace and work was accomplished at a constant rhythm rather than at the hurried and often frantic speed at which it now seems to move. The phrase actually refers to the importance the once thriving gristmill represented to the village.

About the year 1800, William Wilson from Waterbury, Vermont purchased the lot on which was situated the “mill privilege” and where the current Missis-quoi Museum now stands. He built a gristmill and a sawmill along the Pike River. Records indicate that by 1825 George Holt was the owner of the gristmill and between this date and 1830 he sold the mill to Zebulon Cornell of Shaftsbury, Vermont. By 1832, a newly constructed 3-storied red brick mill stood on the same location as the previous mill. He also built a new dam of logs in order to maintain a steady supply of water for the mill and a powerful vertical “undershot” wheel was mounted on the side of the building. It is not recorded why Mr. Cornell re-built the mill but one may surmise that he constructed a larger and more modern mill to accommodate the growing population of Stanbridge East.

One of the major impediments for people in Missisquoi County in the early settlement years was turning grain into feed for cattle or flour for bread. According to early accounts, settlers in the 1780's either “carried their grain on their backs” to Saxe's Mills in Highgate County, Vermont or travelled by boat over Lake Champlain to Burlington, Vermont.

The principal agricultural crop in Missisquoi County in the early 1800's was wheat. For the wheat to become useful it had to be ground into flour, so mills were required immediately in new settlements. Gristmills were also centers of activity and provided business opportunities for other entrepreneurs, tradesmen and professionals and a place to meet neighbors and talk about politics, weather and crops. The mill was a communication centre and thus having a modernized mill to meet the demands of the settlers would have meant a young entrepreneur like Zebulon Cornell would be able to establish a successful business quickly.

The term “grist” referred to any grain that a farmer would bring to a mill for grinding. Gristmills specialized in custom grinding. Each customer would bring in his grain and it would be ground and retuned to him less the portion for the miller's toll. Until the 1840's, Mr. Cornell charged the farmer 1/12th of the weight of his product to grind his grain, a suitable arrangement in a cash-starved economy. This toll was established by law, so the miller could make a living, but not charge exorbitant prices. By the 1840's, milling was changing along with the rest of the economy; even in the countryside, cash fees were beginning to replace traditional tolls.

The first mills used “undershot” or “overshot” water wheels, with the water channelled under or over the wheel, the flow of which turned the wheel. The paddle wheel turned under the impulse of the water current which manipulated gears to drive the millstones. The millstones were laid one on top of the other. The bottom stone, called the bed, was fixed to the floor, while the top stone, the runner, was mounted on a separate spindle, driven by the main shaft. Millstones were made of sections of stone held together by an iron band. From time to time new grooves had to be cut in the faces of the stones. This was done by hand, using steel tools. Average millstones measured 4 feet in diameter, were one foot thick, weighed approximately one ton and turned at 120 revolutions per minute. Typical milling operations took 10 hours to grind 125 bushels of corn.

Because the supply of water was limited, this meant the mill only ran efficiently for about four months of the year. The community need for water in summer, and ice in winter made it difficult to use the water supply for grinding all year. The amount of power produced from the water flow was directly related to the volume of water flow and the height through which it dropped. When the mill was running, the water level in the millpond next to the "mill house" would drop but it would recover to its original height overnight. When the level of the river fell in dry seasons and the flow diminished, water wheels lost some of their power and the millstones turned slower.

As technological improvements became possible and economically justifiable, the Cornell family impro-ved their mill to become more automated, increase production, and make use of a water turbine instead of an exterior wheel. With the advent of the turbine, many mills switched from wooden waterwheels to the iron turbines and the Cornell Mill was no exception. The water-powered turbine was much more efficient and could operate during the winter months or when water levels were low. The turbine was introduced in the late 1890's by Zebulon's grandson Matthew Cornell. Large doors on hinges allowed the miller to open the doors at varying degrees and permitted as much water as he wanted to pass through the turbine. The more water he released into the turbine the faster the shaft turned the millstones. Wooden waterwheels consistently had to be repaired. Rotten wood had to be replaced and the wooden wheel always had to be maintained in order for it to keep its balance. When the waterwheel became unbalanced it would shake and the mill building would vibrate. The turbine required virtually no maintenance.

Millstones ground wheat into different grades of flour and water-ground meal and flour were known for their taste. The Cornell Mill was famous for the quality of its flour, but as time went on future generations looked for faster methods of production. By the late 1940's the Cornell family realized the time for the mill was coming to an end. The steady turning of the millstones ceased in 1960 and with them went a distinctive sound, an even rhythm and a way of life in the village.

Cornell Mill has become today's Missisquoi Museum

Sources: Missisquoi Memories & Cornell Connections vol. 15 Missisquoi Historical Society; History & Families of Oldham County; The Mill Janice Tyrwhitt; The Society for the Preservation of Old Mills – Bellamy's Steam Flour Mill; History of the Eastern Townships, C.M. Day.

Heather Darch

Musée Missisquoi Museum
2, rue River, Stanbridge East Qc J0J 2H0
(450) 248-3153
info@museemissisquoi.ca
www.missisquoimuseum.ca