Rock Mill, Lancaster OH - 2018

When we were out looking at covered bridges, Terry said, "I wish we could find a bridge with a waterfall."  Guess what.  We came across the Rock Mill at one of them and it had a waterfall.  What was cool was the "Miller" was just opening the place and invited us down to the wheel while he unlocked it.  He said the public isn't normally allowed down here.  Part of the reason is the owner of the land that you have to cross to get to the river, doesn't want anyone on his land, but can't do anything about the Miller who has the rights to do it. 

He said they replaced all the gears on the wheel (all made out of wood, like the original).  They have to lock the wheel because of kids playing on the wheel (they thought it was a large hamster wheel, just for them). 




He gave us a lot of history on this mill too.  This 6-story mill was built in 1824 and still works today.  They have been slowly making improvements to the mill.  One update in the near future that was approved was to install a grain shoot/grain elevator.  I guess the original one has been gone for a long time. 

At one point, the mill spun wool.  They had a washing machine set up by the river that would they could wash the wool before it was spun.  Even though there is evidence of the washing machine, they didn't see any evidence in the building itself of the actual spinning. 
The picture shows two slots in the rock, one for washing and one for rinsing.  You can't see it, but there is a natural spring that fills them up with water. 



One of the changes that was made for today's use, was a water pump that pumped the water from the stream to the wheel.  Not sure why they added a pump instead of using the water channel, except maybe because of the water level, or that they can control the water better this way.  He did say, when he turns on the pump, the volume of the river is reduced, even though I didn't notice that. 

He also mentioned that during one of the periods of it's use, the owner would grind his oats, corn, or whatever they were grinding and after he had plenty for his family, then he would give the rest to a brewer down the road where they would make there own whisky. 

The gear room is where they would connect the stones to the wheel for grinding.  They do this before letting the water hit the wheel (it cannot be turning when they do it).  He said the Miller would know what he would be doing for the day and whether he would need one or two grinding wheels for that day. 

If you never saw a waterwheel start up, then here is a video of this one starting.  Also, here are the rest of the pictures we took of this place.