What a beautiful place. A walk back in time where the water-powered gristmill, established in 1756, is still in working order. The next time you are traveling near Raleigh, NC, take a few minutes to enjoy Yates Mill Country Park along with the mill and pond. The early architecture is amazing, and the waterwheel still works.
I learned that in the 19th century, a gristmill located in rural areas would not only be where farmers would bring their grains to be ground into meal and flour but was also a social center. People would swim and picnic at the lake and do trading amongst the locals.
The thing that fascinates me about these old gristmills is the huge, heavy millstones that grind the corn and wheat. So primitive yet still doing their job. Newer versions are turned by electricity, but the process of grinding between two stones is still used.
Two heavy millstones are placed on top of each other but never touching because of the spacer stone. The top stone is called the “runner” that rotates, and the bottom is the “bed-stone.” You should look up the process; it’s simple yet fascinating. Sizes may vary, but stones are heavy. Okay, enough of the history of millstones… or is it?
One more thought…. The Bible loves to give us visual lessons that generations of people will understand. When we hear, “My burden is so heavy; l feel like I have a millstone handing around my neck,” we can picture the heaviness of the stone dragging them down. The Bible also gives us this visual illustration in (Matt. 18:6) where Jesus said, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believes in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depths of the sea.”
Moral of the story…. Go see historical sites to keep in tune with your past, and don’t mess with the little ones who love God. You might be given a millstone necklace.