July 2018 THE BEACON Page 5A

Inside the Metamora Mill is this dresser , or sifter . It is original to the site and still in use today .

These belts and pulleys are located in the lower level of the Metamora Mill , now powered by an electric motor instead of water .

Photos by Susan Ray

Continued from page 4A ground between two millstones . The top stone driven by a series of gears is the runner . It rotates against the stationary bedstone , both of which would have been cut into a specific pattern of furrows ( grooves ) and lands ( high areas ). As the milling progressed , the processed grain or corn would fall through a small opening in the center of the millstones or be pushed to the side . This product would then be sieved or screened in the dresser also called a bolt , resulting in very finely sifted wheat flour , or the more coarse corn grits . The entire process would be powered by water moving a massive wheel which in turn rotated a series of gears and pulleys . This heavy machinery was usually located in the lowest level of the mill building , as is the case with the still operational grist mill in Metamora , Indiana . Visitors to the mill can watch the entire process and talk with the millers grinding local corn .

Roy Lambert is the local historian with the Aurora

Still visible on the walls of the Napoleon Flouring Mill are painted advertisements for eggs , feed , salt , and their brand name flour ..

Public Library . He explains why so many smaller mills disappeared . “ Well , some people just plain went out of business , and there were floods and fires , but the different modes of transportation made a big difference – trains . You didn ’ t have to mill your grain right where you farmed anymore .”

One of the largest mills in the area was the Lawrenceburg Roller Mills organized in 1896 and incorporated the following year . These mills were massive and considered to be the largest in the state . The offices for this roller mill were located inside the Vance- Tousey House , the current site of the Dearborn County Historical Society .

For forty-five years the mill operated adjacent to the Ohio River . In 1915 the company offered shares to its employees , and in 1920 , it was the first business in Lawrenceburg to limit the workday to eight hours . According to documents from 1925 , employees having spent twenty-five years or longer with the company were rewarded with a turkey each Thanksgiving , ten dollars in gold at Christmas , and $ 10,000 in life insurance

Many mills are no longer in existence , but with a little research , the help of a local historian , and illustrated atlases , it is possible to enjoy these picturesque and practical structures .

provided at no cost to the insured .

Farmers from all over the area including Kentucky sold their grain to the mill . Barges and trains were kept busy transporting the finished product across the state , country and throughout the world . The over-sized silos are clearly marked on atlases and were an integral part of Lawrenceburg well into the twentieth century . In June 1941 , a fire started in a cinder pile located next to the boiler . The flames soon engulfed the entire site . President of the Historical Society , Joyce Baer says , “ Apparently you could see the flames all the way to Mount Adams and Mount Auburn in Cincinnati . It was horrific .”

The damage from the fire was not limited to the structure itself . Dearborn County Genealogist with the Lawrenceburg Public Library Cassie Blankenhorn says , “ And of course a big part of it was that they employed half the town .”

Fortunately , the mill was rebuilt , and with its return to operations , the residents of Lawrenceburg and area

farming families once again benefited from all that the mill offered .

Like those larger mills , smaller community-based enterprises also meet the practical needs of their farming neighbors . Today ’ s familyowned mills like Bear Branch Supply carry on the legacy of early mule-powered and picturesque grist mills , and although the technology might have changed , the bringing together of land , farmer , and table continues .

857 Six Pine Ranch Road , Batesville , Indiana info @ walhillfarm . com

Other great local artists too !

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