Wayside Inn Grist Mill - Sudbury, MA - Water Mills on Waymarking.com

In Sudbury, just off U.S. Route 20, is a stone grist mill in a beutiful setting that is open on weekends to demonstrate milling using water and stone grinding wheels. This mill has always been used to demonstrate milling using waterpower and mill stones.

Despite the relatively primitive technology, the mill is much younger than you would assume. It was built in 1924, commissioned by Henry Ford (of Model A car fame), and designed by J. B. Campbell of Philadelphia. This design was based on mills in the Pennsylvania area, using stone as the main building material, instead of wood that is typically used in mills in this area. The mill started grinding on Thanksgiving in 1929. From its start, the intention was to be a live demonstration museum, and, though not continuously, continues today.

At first, a miller provided by Ford staffed the mill. When he died, this ended. For a time, the Pepperidge Farm Company had entered a deal with the Wayside Inn that they would supply a full-time miller and then feature Pepperidge Farm products both at the mill and at the Inn. This lasted about 15 years. Today, a miller is paid by the Inn.

The stone mill has a beautiful overshoot wheel. A canal from a dammed stream provides the power from above. Part of the water goes over the wheel. Excess water falls over a water fall by the wheel. The inside of the mill has two floors. The upper floor has the grinding area. There is a more or less barricaded so that people can come into the mill but not be too near the moving machinery. The miller, in clothing of the era, talked and showed the audience the process. Some of the items have their own plaque that explains the use of that item. The floor below shows more of the gears from the wheel and would have been the storage area for the flour.

From the mill, you can walk along the canal and stream to the dam about a 1/10 mile away. At this location, you can also trace some of the foundations of the tack mill that was there.

There is no fee, but donations are accepted, and you can buy flour or corn meal either there or at the Wayside Inn. Parking is available on Wayside In Road right by the mill.

Wayside Inn Website (Grist Mill):
(visit link)

Current Status: Still In Use Current Use: Milling demonstrations

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Date Logged Log User Rating   04/23/2018 RickAnn visited it