Evening journal., 1901-08-10
YE ANCIENT MILLN
OF BRANDYWINa
Story tf Early Flour MiIIinS
in Delaware Il
FARMERS HAVE COMPLAINT
SaV Present System Of Roller Process
Flour Making Is Not Profitable
TO Them

Farmers who reside near WilminQ..
ton are complaining OF modern meth d
DDS for the disposal OF their grain ar f<
long for the days of Aud Lang Syne ~
when Il was customary TO take gri M
TO the mill and get satisfactory RETURNS
FOR their labor. The rolling process o.
making -four has done away with Tho
old process OF making the chief IND
gredient of the stan OF life and Is Is
source of great annoyance. In forme#
days whenm mill stones did the grindineH
the farmer would reserve his supply on
wheat from the crop and take it to the
mill TO have II ground. He was wills
ing 10 pay the miller his toll. for he
got generous return from the grain
which was ground and the flour made
by tbs good old process contained tho
full nutriment OF the wheat
There usually was in a grist mill OF
those days what was called a bOltinS
cloth. by which the farmer got SUPER
fine and tail -four and bran. The
superiine -four was not as white as the
roller process flour OF to-day, but it
made a nutritious bread and had a
sweet and wholesome taste. The bread
made of the finest white flour of to-day
is dry and tasteless when compared
with that pure wheat bread during the
days that grist mills ilOurished along
the banks of Brandywine creek.
CAUSE FOR FARMERS COMPLAINT
Since white flour OF the roller process
has become so popular as 30 cause the
old grist mill to put I'm rollers or get
out of business, the farmer has a jusq
cause for complaint When he taxed
his wheat TO the new mill he does noC
leave it TO be ground, but simply ex-
changes 1t for white flour made from
the starch of the wheat. 1t Is pretty
stun and delights the housewife by it's
| snowy whiteness and by the beautiful
light lOaves of bread she can produce
from it. The farmer, however. looks
at the matter from a different point of
view. He says he gets nothing in re-
turn for his wheat but flour; where q
few years ago he got two grades of
-four and bran. which cost him much
less money. Moreover 10 was ground
from wheat that he had reserved for
his own consumption. BY this means
he had a cheap flour TO use for cheap
labor and in making wheat cakes and
gingerbread.
MILLS THAT HAVE DISAPPEARED.
Z
mourns principally were along the
| Brandywine, and most Of them were
| built more than a hundred years ago.
Amc8 e. Brinton, custodian of the law
library in the county Court House, is
81 years old and has spent a great part
Of his life in millwrighting, and all OF
his busy career has been spent along
that historic and picturesque creek,
He has data concerning all of these
mills, and the more he reads and re-
fleets the stronger he is convinced that
the abandonment of the old process OF
-four milling has been q curse to man
and beast
About the last grist mill to disap
pear from this part Of the Brandywine
was the Webster mill, which stood east
of Market street bridge and which had
10 give place 10 the city filter Nearly
opposite stood Vandever's mill at
about the site Of the ruins of the Lea
smills
Old Barley mill, that stood along the
race at the foot Of jackson street, was
about the Oldest mill in the city. II
was built in 1878 and rebuilt in 1857
Il belonged 20 Samuel Kirk in 1923
but in 1850 Oliver Candy became man
ager and made many Improvements in
the property, which finally resulted in
moving his plant to the east side OF
Market street bridge in order to gel
tide water. This necessitated him put.
ting in a quarter-breast wheel.
On the opposite bank from Canby's
mill was Gibson's. and it was built in
1862. before there was any bridge
across the Brandywine.
Besides these mills there was the
Philllps's mill. which was built in 1740
! Oliver Evans, who operated an old
/ grist mill near Brandywine Springs
was at one time the most popular and
\ progressive miller in this section. He
made many improvements in grinding
grist and improved the b0lting process
to a great extent Then there was the
Richards mill, in Mill Creek. The roll
Ter process has either converted these
cid mills or put them out OF business
and this country can thank hungary
and IT'S thick-skinned black wheat Tor
the roller process innovation.