Milling About.....

Yates Mill off in the distance.....

I finally went to the Yates Mill Historic Park yesterday out on Lake Wheeler Road in Raleigh. I've driven past it for years, everytime saying "I'm gonna go do that tour sometime", and yesterday, I finally did. It was awesome! Yates Mill is a fully-restored 18th century, water-powered gristmill (where they grind corn into cornmeal and wheat into flour). It sits on a 20 acre pond that you walk part-way around to get from the museum building to the mill itself. At the mill, they show you how corn is shelled and how the huge granite grinders and all the other gears, including the monster water wheel outside, move to make cornmeal to just the right consistency. Their next big event is the Harvest Celebration next month, which I will definitely return for. I'm so glad I went and I'm glad my daughter came with me to see a little bit of history.

the dam and the water-powered wheel sitting idle....

Yates Mill from the backside in b&w. It just seemed
appropriate. I can't decide though which I like better.
This b&w or the color one below....


Yates Mill in living color

the view from under the Lake Wheeler Bridge....

other inhabitants under the bridge....ick.

old gears guide you down the mill path....

more gears in b&w....


...at the front door of the mill. Gorgeous.