Early Grist Mill Donated To The Amish Heritage Center
•January 31, 2018•
An early grist mill has been donated to the new Illinois Amish Heritage Center located one mile west of Chesterville.
Grist mills in the form of three-story buildings with large water-driven wheels were a central part of most 19th century communities. Often a mill was the first development in a new land, and a community sprung up around it. Farmers brought their grain, usually corn or wheat, to the local mill to have it ground into cornmeal or wheat flour. The miller kept a portion of the meal or wheat as his payment.
With the advent of steam-powered tractors in the late 19th century and gasoline powered tractors by the 1920s, portable, belt-powered grist mills were developed, and farmers then had the ability to grind their corn or wheat without leaving the farm. These portable grist mills provided even better-quality cornmeal and wheat than the water-powered mills of the past.
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