The first mills that were started in early American settlements were sawmills, which supplied the local community with lumber for homes and barns. Early sawmills were often built by waterfalls, which supplied the power to operate the mill.
The Spofford sawmill dates to the days when nearly everything -- from home to household goods -- was made
of wood. The original water-powered sawmill was built in the late 1600s by either John or Abner
The sawmill supplied lumber to the community to build houses, barns, shops and maybe even ships that crossed the Atlantic Ocean. The sawmill remained in the Spofford family for over 200 years until the mid-1800s. Although sawmills like this one started to decline in the United States, local farmers who needed lumber most likely helped the Spofford Sawmill stay in business.
The sawmill was designed by E.J. Cutler in 1929 to house sawmill machinery Henry Ford had purchased from
Ida L. Morse of Georgetown, Massachusettes, in 1925. The sawmill was constructed in Greenfield Village in 1940
using some of the materials, including a support beam from the original mill.
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