In 1838 James Newton Reeder had a sawmill built. It was built a little
south of Troy Grove, along the Little Vermillion. This sawmill was situated
about fifty feet off the banks of the stream and made the lumber for the
majority of the houses in Troy Grove.
Some of the houses were the "Green
Mountain Tavern," "The Wild Bill House" (they are both gone), "The Carey House"
and "Adair House" (which are still standing). The lumber for these four houses
was hauled from Chicago. The mill ran until 1857, then it stopped and lay idle
till Michael Meinhardt bought it, in 1860. He tore down the sawmill and built a
stone flour mill. He was very wise, because to build a firm foundation he dug
about two feet down in the earth and struck solid rock. He then built the mill
on it. This mill was finished and went into operation in 1861. Downstairs the
wagons drove in and dumped their wheat; then it went to the bins, up through the
elevator and then down into the burrs.
The burrs were two great,
tight-fitting stone wheels; one turns one way and one the other. This mashed the
wheat into fine powder. Then it passed through a fine screen made of silk, and
before this powder, called flour, was considered fine enough to use, it had to
be sifted through this silk sifter.
Michael Meinhardt ran the mill until
1897. Then P. J. Paxton bought it and ran it till 1898 by water power; then he
ran it by steam.
The mill was on a little upward slope from the creek.
So to get water to run down into the mill pond he had to go up stream about a
mile to build a dam and dig the ditch or race to bring the water to the
water-wheel.
The mill stopped in 1904 or 1905. Mr. Burris owns it now.
He does not run it any more. But he keeps pigs downstairs and hay upstairs.
There is none of the machinery left inside, only the elevators. The burrs are
lying outside now. They are all rusty, and you couldn't tell now what they were.
The dam is all gone and you couldn't tell where it stood. Right near
there is an old ash tree grown up since the mill stopped. There is a rock a
little ways up stream that sticks about a foot above the water, but when the dam
was there Albert and Will Foster could just stick their heads above the water.
Michael Meinhardt lived about one-half mile east of Troy Grove. The
house is not standing now, but if you go there you can still see kitchen
utensils lying around.
Extracted 08 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from Stories of Pioneer Days in La Salle County, Illinois, by Grammar Grade Pupils, published in 1932, page 90.
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