Notes by Charles Howell
The grinding of grain by primitive hand stones can be traced back even
further than recorded civilization, although the methods used in prehistoric
milling are a matter of some conjecture and speculation. It is certain,
however, that stones used for grinding grain have progressed through the
centuries, from the small stones held in the hand which were used hammer-like
fashion to pulverize grain against larger stones or a rock face, to the
highly efficient power driven millstones that are still used to this day.
Geologists and archaeologists have come across primitive types of pounding
stones of a similar shape in various parts of the world. It is interesting
to note that the methods used to reduce grain or berries to a more edible
form did not very much by the people in the early civilizations of the Old
World, the original peoples of the New World, or by the aborigines of modern
uncivilized countries. A similar kind of hammer stone appears to have been
in universal use perhaps between 25 and 50 thousand years ago.
The improvements in the simple pounding methods came with the introduction
of the mortar and pestle which gave more of a grinding action. The grain
was placed in a bowel-like piece of rock, the mortar, and ground by the
pestle, a club-shaped implement. This was held in the hand and worked up
and down striking the grain. The same principle was also used with mortars
fashioned from a section of a hardwood tree trunk, the grain being pounded
with hardwood pestles. There were, of course, many variations in the kind
of wood used and in the size of the mortars and pestles. The design largely
depended on local timber availability and the needs of the people using
those grinding implements.
From the primitive hand stones, mortars and pestles, was developed the saddle
stone or saddle quern. This device had a saddle shaped stone base, a true
grinding action was produced by working a rubbing stone, shaped almost like
a rolling pin, back and forth across the abrasive surface of this stone
base, on which the grain was scattered. Later improvements to the saddle
stones were, having the milling surfaces of a flat base stone and enlarged
flat rubbing stone grooved so that the grooves crossed each other to improve
the shearing action. This grooving of these early grinding stones, must
have been one of the first steps towards a definite pattern of millstone
dressing. To assist in the operation of the larger rubbing upper stones,
handles were fitted at either side of the rubbing stone, so that more force
could be used in a push and pull motion. This type was called a push mill.
In later larger versions levers were fitted so that the whole of the force
of the operator's body could be utilized. This improved type of mill was
sometimes termed a lever mill.
About two hundred years B. C. rotary motion came into use, this was a great
improvement and was first developed by the Romans. One of the early rotary
devices was the hourglass mill, or conical quern, in which the upper stone
was suspended over the conical shaped lower stone. The top portion of the
upper stone was hopper shaped and used to feed the grain through a perforated
iron plate fitted in the center of the two sections. This iron plate, called
the rynd, had a central socket eye which was pivoted on top of a spindle
fixed into the lower stone, so that the upper stone did not rest directly
on the lower one. The upper stone was turned by means of bars projecting
from its side, the operator or operators, walking round the mill. The grain
from the revolving hopper gradually fed through the space between it and
the lower, producing coarser meal; while a thin shim, by bringing the stones
closer together, would produce finer meal. This method of adjustment, although
effectual, was most troublesome, as it involved the lifting off of the top
stone every time a change in the texture of the meal was desired. The later
bridge-tree method is much easier and more effective. To turn the upper
stone, a wooden handle is inserted in the top surface of the stone, so that
when grinding, the upper stone revolves and the lower stone is stationary.
The grain is fed in through the eye, radiated from the center of the stones
and is ground into meal by the action of the upper stone passing over the
lower one, the meal emerges all round the periphery of the stones.
Animal power was also utilized to power the larger versions of the quern.
Even today, primitive methods of grain grinding by camel, donkey or oxen
power are found in India, the Middle East and many other countries.
In all the early mills, the material of the millstones depended on whatever
hard stone could be obtained locally. Transport of heavy stones was, of
course, difficult, so that any suitable local stone was used. The Romans
seem to have been the first people to move stone for milling purposes an
y great distance. From the well known Andernach quarries in the Rhine Valley,
Germany, the Romans shipped quern and mill stones to most parts of the European
Continent. This stone is a blue black lava, commonly called "Cullin"
stone. Cullin is a corruption of the name of Cologne, from which city this
stone was shipped down the Rhine. The millstones produced from Andernach
stone, were called Blue Stones, Rhine stones, Cologne stones and Holland
stones. Quarries in Germany are still producing millstones at the present
The best and most popular stone ever discovered for grinding wheat into
white flour is the French Burr. This stone is a freshwater quartz and was
quarried at La Ferte sous Jouarre near the town of Chalons in the Marne
Valley in Northern France, the stone from this district became world famous.
The remarkable thing about this stone from La Ferte sous Jouarre was that
it was only found in small pieces ranging from about 12 to 18 inches long,
from 6 to 10 inches wide, by 5 to 10 inches thick, usually embedded in layers
of clay. There were sometimes pieces of a larger size, but none large enough
to make a complete millstone of the usual size 4 feet to 4 feet, 6 inches
diameter, so that the French millstone of popular size, had to be built
up. One reason why French stones were so successful was their high percentage
of porosity. Some pieces were simply a mass of porous cells and as the stones
wore away, new cutting edges appeared which could be worked without being
refaced or redressed. Other pieces of La Ferte sous Jouarre stone were extremely
hard and of close texture. The more porous pieces of stone were often light
brown in color and called "nutmeg" burrs. The hard, close textured
pieces were usually of lighter color and called "white" burrs.
French stones produced a whiter flour from wheat because the extremely hard
nature of the stone was far less abrasive than any other stone used. An
abrasive stone tends to shred the outer part of the grain of wheat, the
bran, into a powder. This fine powdered bran dresses through the fine mesh
silk or woven wire of the flour dressing machinery or bolters together with
the white part of the wheat meal and the flour thus produced is of a darker
In the heyday of millstone milling, there were hundreds of firms of French
millstones makers, and these people imported vast quantities of the La Ferte
sous Jouarre blocks of stone into their respective countries. Even today,
it is still possible to have new French millstones manufactured. The process
of building the complete millstones from the blocks of rough stones, begins
with selecting suitable pieces so as to form, usually two concentric rings
looking rather like keystones of an arch. The number of sectional pieces
used, varies, depending on the size of the blocks; some French millstones
have as many as nineteen sections, while there are others with as few as
four sections. Where there are two rings of stone sections, a good millstone
maker will select the harder burrs for the outer ring and the softer burrs
for the inner ring. This selection of stone is to allow for the extra wear
on the outer ring as, of course, the periphery of the runner stone travels
much faster than the center and also covers a larger area of grain or material
contact. Apart from this obvious consideration, the area round the center
of the stone, the eye, has to be slightly farther apart than the outer edge
of the stones to allow the grain to enter between the stones. This "dishing"
of the stones was also known to some millers as "bosoming." The
sections of the stone are trimmed and dressed so as to be a good fit and
form a perfectly round, solid millstone. The runner stone has a round hole
in the center, usually about 10 inches diameter to form the eye, through
which the grain is fed. The bed stone is built with a square hole in the
center about 10 inches across, this is to accommodate the neck bearing of
the driving or balancing spindle. The pieces of stone are cemented or plastered
together and bound with iron bands to prevent bursting when the millstones
are in use. These bands are usually "sweated" or shrunk on, this
is to say, that the iron bands are heated to a red hot condition and thus
expand. In this red hot condition the bands are driven over the edge of
the stones and as the bands cool they contract to become extremely tight.
The top of the runner stone is usually finished off with a layer of plaster
of Paris, which is sometimes mixed with small pieces of stone and smoothed
off to form a slightly convex top. This plaster of Paris finish also helps
to increase the weight of the runner stone and is a saving in cost of the
expensive imported stone, if this has to be used to increase the weight.
When new, a French runner stone of 4 feet to 4 feet, 6 inches diameter is
usually about 12 to 15 inches thick at the circumference, which is known
as the "skirt" of millstones, and 15 to 18 inches thick at the
eye or center. The weight of these runner stones is upwards of 2,400 pounds.
To balance the runner stone when pivoted on top of the spindle, pieces of
iron or lead are driven or fastened in appropriate points so as to correct
the balance. From about the early nineteenth century, some makers fitted
balance boxes, usually four in number which were let into the top of the
runner stone at opposite points near the rim, weights could be placed in
these boxes to correct the balance. In England, a firm of millwrights, Messrs.
Clark and Dunham, patented a special cylindrical balance box which carried
lead discs on a screw, these discs could be screwed up or down to balance
the stone on both its vertical and its horizontal axis.
The French bed stone has the underside smoothed off to a perfectly level
finish with a layer of plaster of Paris, so that the stone will lie flat
on its base. To correct any uneven wear, the bed stone would be leveled
by using wooden wedges driven under the stone in the appropriate spots.
In late nineteenth century mills, bed stones were often set in cast iron
"pans," in the base of these pans, usually at four opposite points,
were set pins which were adjustable to correct the level of the stone.
In England, in southwest Yorkshire and the northeastern perimeter of Derbyshire,
was found an excellent rock for manufacturing millstones. This type of rock
is appropriately known as Millstone Grit. Known to British millers as "Peak"
or gray stones, they were widely used in the grain milling industry until
about sixty years ago. However because of their abrasive nature they were
not too suitable for producing white flour from wheat. Quite a number of
Peak stones are still at work in the British Isles at the present time,
some for grain milling and others are used for special purposes, such as
grinding material for the chemical and paint industries. After French millstones
became so popular for flour milling, the Peak stones were used for grinding
coarse grain for animal feeds, shelling barley and hulling oats. Peak stones
were exported to several countries, including the U. S. A. Today, there
can be seen hundreds of complete and incomplete Peak millstones scattered
about near the old quarry workings, which are mostly situated in desolate
moor land districts.
In the United States, the early mills were mostly equipped with stones brought
in from Europe. The Cullin stones were very popular, there are many examples
of these millstones at early mill sites, particularly near the eastern seaboard.
French millstones were used throughout the U. S. A. manly for grinding wheat
flour and corn meal particularly after about 1750. There were many firm
engaged in importing the blocks of the French stones, and making these blocks
into complete millstones, was, for many years, an extensive industry. The
advertisements by some of these millstone makers, in the American milling
trade journals, claimed that they had their own men in constant attendance
at the quarries in France. By having this personal supervision over the
quarrying, the makers stated that, only the very best quality burrs were
selected for use in their millstones. A few of the firms engaged in building
French millstones in the U. S. A. are listed as follows:
In 1774. James Webb, Little Queen Street on the North River, New York City.
1791. G. Speth, New York.
1796. Samuel Wilson, 40 Cortland Street, New York City.
1797. Oliver Evans, 126 South Second Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
In Leffel's Illustrated Milling & Mechanical News, January 1876, there
were advertisements by the following millstone makers:
Edward P. Allis & Co., Reliance Works, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Samuel Carey, No. 7 Broadway, New York City.
William H. Dillingham, 143 Main Street, Louisville, Kentucky.
Nordyke, Marmon & Co., Richmond, Indiana.
Straub Mill Company, Cincinnati, Ohio.
There were many sources of native millstones in the American continent,
however, no stone had ever been discovered to equal the French Burr stone
and in most American mills, French stones would be found in addition to
native stones. From Mount Tom, which overlooks Connecticut Valley, came
the quartz shot sandstone millstone for the early settlements in that area.
Across Long Island Sound in Long Island, many of the mills there also used
stones from Connecticut.
In New York State, millstones were quarried at several locations. A few
complete and incomplete millstones can still be seen at the old quarry working
in an area known as the Traps, near High Falls in Ulster County. The stones
from this area were known as Esopus millstones and were cut from deposits
of Shawangunk Conglomerate Grit. The Esopus Millstone Company, who were
successors to the Bell Millstone Company, had their headquarters at No.
8 Wall Street, Kingston, New York. In advertisements in the milling trade
journals, they described their operations as:
Manufacturers of the Well-Known Esopus Millstones. Runners, Beds, Rollers,
and Chasers. Blocks for Glaze Pans, Paving and Color Mills and other kinds
used by Millers, Mill Manufacturers. Paint and Chemical Mills. Potteries
and China works.
The granite from the well known quarries at Westerly in Rhode Island and
from quarries in New Hampshire provided many of the stones used in New England
mills. One of the largest collections of millstones in New England, can
be seen at Millstone Manor, a private house in Shore Road, Ogunquit, Maine.
Here, there are reputed to be more than seventy stones as used for grain
grinding and other industrial processes. A type of stone similar to the
French Burr was discovered in Arkansas in about 1870 but does not appear
to have been extensively used. There were millstone quarries at Bowmanstown,
Carbon County, Lancaster County and Berkshire County, all in Pennsylvania.
Near Marietta in Ohio, a suitable kind of stone for milling purposes was
quarried for many years. Quarries were also worked to produce millstones
in Virginia and a quartz bearing granite was used for millstones from quarries
in Rowan County, North Carolina. In fact, there were probably millstones
quarries in most areas where there was a suitable hard stone and where grain
milling was carried on to any extent. The size of these native millstones
varied from less than two feet and up to seven feet in diameter. When new,
these stones would vary from about eight inches to thirty inches in thickness
and the largest stones would weigh more than 3,500 pounds.
In modern times, millstones are made of artificial stone. Emery type grit
of a varying texture is mixed with a special kind of cement and poured into
molds, which are, of course, of any desired size. These modern millstones
have many advantages, notably, that they are always sharp; when dressing
is required, only the furrows have to be deepened and the area around the
eye faced off a little. The output of these stones is also considerably
higher for the amount of power consumed. In England and on the European
continent, there are still a few firms which still do a fairly extensive
business in the manufacture of these modern millstones.
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