The Pride Is On The Move!: More Mt Vernon

This was the mill. It had burned down several years after Mr. Washington's death, and it lay in ruins for many years. It was rebuilt recently in 2007 according to historic records and was built to be as authentic as possible. It was truly fascinating!!

As expected...I couldn't put it all on one page...so here are a few more pictures. These are of the Grist Mill and Distillery both owned and operated by George Washington. The mill would grind all of the wheat, barley, rye, and corn that his farms had harvested and the flour was used to feed everyone within his household...himself, family members, slaves and visitors included. The distillery was somewhat of an after-thought to help use up some of his extra grain but also make some money in a market that always was in demand!! Sadly, he died shortly after the distillery endeavor began, so it didn't last very long.

They did make one modification in the original design...they moved the water wheel to the inside from the outside so that the weather elements couldn't ruin the wheel and it's working parts. See the corn in the hopper? This is on the top floor...downstairs is where the action is!!

Here is the under-floor of the mill...the working gears used to turn the grinding stones up above. They were soooooo inventive back then!! It astonishes me how their minds worked to solve problems and create new machines to accomplish what they needed to be done.

The final project...finely ground corn meal...with the husks perfectly separated for chicken feed!! ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!! I even bought some of this corn meal and plan to make authentic "hoecakes" with the Martha Washington recipe :-)). I'll let you know how they taste!!