The Press., 1919-07-31

The purchasing of the Dennis grain
 business by c. H. Moore Go. marks
 another event in the history of this
 building. Perhaps the people of the
 town do not know that this mill is
 nearly GA years old. Previous to the
 erection of the grist mill this site was
 occupied by a shop which was used in
 making hammer handles and was
 owned by Amos Heald. He sold the
 shop to Geo. M. Ives and H. Converse
 who intended to use it for foundry
 purposes. Their plans were not car ried out, however, and they sold the
 building to Henry Clark who built the
 mill E. c. Dennis came here from Worcester in 1856 and took a position
 as foreman in the currying shop Of
 Thrall & Rowland which is now apart of the Warren Woolen Co.'S mill He held this position for four years when in company with Sylvester T. Preston he leased the mill from Clark. Two years later Marcus Rowland was ad- mitted into the partnership and the firm became Preston, Dennis x Co. A year later, 1863, these men bought the mill. They used the mill for tanning and currying leather and during the civil war they furnished much leather for saddle and cavalry material to the government. This firm ended in 1870 when Mr. Dennis bought out his part ners and six years later he converted 10 ich nprflctIV equipped grist mill. His output was mainly meal and feed in various forms. This enterprise was a successful one as these commodities were in great demand. He supplied nearly all of Holland county and many towns stretching far to the south of Stafford. MT. Dennis also maintained a feed store for a few years on Main street. The building had been enlarged in 1865 and parts of it were rented out to other parties. Quite an industry in the manufacture of SpOOlS for the Will limantic Linen Co. was carried on here at one time The Holt & Burwell ma lchine shop was in the lower part of the building for many years, and the | WestcOtt woodworking shop occu- pied the upper part of the addition in 9s.e-- front for a few years. At one time there was a bowling alley in the second story of the building and many a gay afternoon or evening was passed here by the business men of the town. The alley was not of regulation size, but it provided a whole lot of enter tainment. George l.. Dennis was con- sidered the star bowler, having rec ord of twelve consecutive strikes. Many others averaged over 230. Chas. M. Cummings took the position in the mill in 1891 which he still retains. As the grain business increased, how ever more room was needed and these other industries were crowded out in consequence. About 1890 George l.. Dennis became associated with his father in the business and has con- tinued the same since his fathers death. A monster overshot water wheel was of interest in connection with the mill till recently when it was done away with. The wheel was thirty feet in diameter and at one time it supplied all the power for the mill. At present most of the power is derived from water pressure and some electricity. Steam power can also be had here for there is a large engine in the lower part of the building, but it has not been used for nearly fifteen years. As other grain and feed estab- llshments sprung up in other nearby
 towns the demand for grain from the Dennis mill leSSened, but the old mill
 can treasure memories of days when
 it had no rival in this part of the state