Kiosk - Mills Along Nashoba Brook and Early American Pencils - Acton, MA - Massachusetts Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

In Acton, within the Nashoba Brook Conservation Area, is a loop known as the Trail Through Time (TTT), with a kiosk in the southern part of the conservation area. This kiosk has four panels on it. Two of them concern the flora and fauna of the area. The other two concern the industry that once harnessed the brook's power. The panels have a lot of text and will be summarized here.


"MILLS ALONG NASHOBA BROOK

The First Mills

The English colonists who moved into the Nashoba Valley during the late 17th and 18th centuries...took advantage of the Nashoba Brook watershed by constructing water-powered sawmills, forges, gristmills, and fulling mills and became part-time or full-time millers...

Types of Early Mills

- Gristmills...
- Sawmills...
- Fulling mills...
- Carding mills...
- Forges...

Harnessing Power

The basic features of all water-powered mills include the following:
- A dam to create a mill pond and a vertical drop in the water flow...
- A sluiceway that channels water from the millpond through the mill...
- A water wheel or turbin in the path of the water flow...
- A power train (shafts, gears, pulleys)...

What Happened to the Mills?

Advancements in technology and transportation during the 19th century
brought competition as well as opportunity for the mill owners..."

There are nice drawings of a mill, pullies and belts, a flutter wheel and channel to illustrate the type of water wheel found at the site. There is also an illustration of a brook with locations pointed out, and the following inset text:

[Starting from the Top]

"Site 1: A gristmill and sawmill were operated here in the 1730s by Thomas Wheeler, Jr. and later owned by Gersham Davies and his descendants. In 1811, a gristmill and sawmill at this site were assessed to John Hayward, Jr. and Phineas Wheeler and later to their descendants. From 1868 through 1890, Francis Robbins was assessed for 'sawmill, 2 shops and wheels, water power.'..."

"Site 2: In the 1820s, a gristmill, fulling mill, and carding factory were owned by Uriah Foster and Jeremiah Hosmer. In the 1830s, Eben Wood had a pencil factory here (see other panel)."

"Site 3: Ebenezer Davis, Jr. built a mill here in 1848 which was used at various times for the manufacture of bellows, pencils and sashes and blinds for windows. The pencil works continued until 1888 under the ownership of Lewis Ball, then Martha Ball, and finally Henry Smith."

Site 4: John Barker built a forge here in 1728 equipped with 'a trip hammer and other implements and conveniences for working in iron.' In the 1790s a sawmill and a gristmill owned by Daniel Wetherbee in 1840 continued operations until the early 20th century, producing plaster in its later years."


"EARLY AMERICAN PENCILS

American pencil making began in the early years of the 1800s when, it is believed, a Medford woman constructed the first American pencils by removing the pith of alder twigs with a knitting needle and filling them with a mixture of arabic glue and graphite. The first to construct pencils for New England trade was a young Concordian named David Hubbard, but according to Actonian Horace Homer, the pencils 'were of little value, and but few of them were manufactured.'

In 1812, another Concordian, David Munroe, created a better product by mixing the lead, or plumbago, with an adhesive substance...

...Munroe hired the journeyman and cabinet maker, Ebenezer Wood, to help him operate the two-man saw used to cut slab and veneers from cedar logs. Wood showed a talent for inventing , and was able to mechanize the production of pencils in Munroe's factory and to develop the techniques which allowed Munroe to automate and thereby increase production for the Boston market.

Henry David Thoreau, Wood's contemporary and a fellow pencil maker, was initiated into the trad by his father, John Thoreau...Thoureau & Co. produced pencils of sufficient quality to be sold in the Boston Market...

Ebenezer Wood (1792-1880)

Ebenezer Wood was a cabinet maker, inventor, Mason, veteran of the War of 1812, and a gentleman. In 1835 he was Acton's town moderator. The 1800s witnessed a national boom in pencils because of new construction techniques that were developed in Concord and Acton, and Ebenezer Wood played a key role in this technological development. Pencil making was the high-tech business of the day.

Ebenezer Wood's Improvements in Pencil Production

Munroe's early methods were slow and painstaking, so he hired Wood to develop mechanized ways of automating pencil production. According to Wood's contemporary, Acton's Horace Hosmer, Ebenezer Wood 'stands in the very front rank of American pencil makers.' Wood set up the first circular saw used in the production of pencils which, Hosmer writes, 'was a great curiosity for a long time.'...

Ebenezer Wood constructed the first hexagon and octagon shaped cases for pencils, and thus is the inventor of the modern style of pencil that we have today...However, rather than patent his inventions and techniques, Wood shared them freely with all who sought his help, and at least one such machine was built by the New York company, Eberhardt Faber, which would soon become a leader in pencil production..."

There is a picture of the old pencil mill at the top, a picture of Ebenezer Wood, and images of pencils.

About the Site:

There are at least two access points. The closer one is from the parking lot off Davis Road to the south of the kiosk that is about a quarter mile along the trail. The other one - the one I parked at, is at the end of Wheeler Lane, and is about a half mile walk along the trail. Both ways have gently varied terrain (I rate it about a 2 from the south and 3 from the north if you walk on the west part of the loop).

A short walk down a path that is the old dam will lead you to the site of Wood's pencil factory. Little is left of the mill - pretty much just the spillway and a dry channel. At Wheeler Lene is Site 1, which has the Robbins Mill foundation remains, which are being restored at this time.

Agency Responsible for Placement: Other (Place below) Agency Responsible for Placement (if not in list above): The Land Stewardship Committee [Acton] Year Placed: 2001 County: Middlesex City/Town Name: Acton Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

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