Mohawk Nation of Grand River
The Mill
An economy from one bushel: the mill the Crown promised, the mill that was, and the Mohawk Mill to come.
Tap a rung to climb the ladder and see what the bushel is worth there; tap the wheel to turn it faster and fill the sack. The values are illustrative.
The King’s Mill, as the record has it
| 1784–85 | promised by Haldimand: a saw mill and a grist mill, with a church and a school |
|---|---|
| Spring 1785 | Lieutenant Tinling with Brant on the Grand, to lay out the village and see the promised buildings made |
| By 1796 | running: on 29 June the surveyor Thomas Walsh sends grain to the King’s Mill to be ground |
| A generation | flour and meal for the village; boards for its houses, fences and chapel |
| By 1815 | lost: the Six Nations petition that it had been burnt by accident |
| Today | a stone foundation on the bank at the end of Mohawk Street |
Mohawk Milled
One mark from the stone to the sandwich. Tap a good to read it; the prices are illustrative.
The ladder of a log
The saw’s side of the double mill: one log, from the bush to the house. Tap a step; the values are illustrative.
A first mill, in numbers (illustrative)
| Grinding | 500 kg of whole wheat flour a day, 250 days a year |
|---|---|
| Grain | about 4,600 bushels a year |
| Land | some 58 acres of wheat, at 80 bushels an acre |
| Grain cost | about $41,000 a year |
| Flour | 125 tonnes a year |
| Sales | about $187,000 wholesale; more at the shop |
| People | four at the mill, more up the ladder |
To start (illustrative)
| A stone mill | $30,000 to $80,000 |
|---|---|
| A sifter | $10,000 to $25,000 |
| Grain cleaning | $10,000 to $30,000 |
| A clean room | $50,000 to $150,000 |
| Bags, scale and labels | $5,000 to $10,000 |
| Licence and food safety plan | $2,000 to $5,000 |
| Grain for the first months | about $40,000 |
| In all | about $150,000 to $340,000 |
Words of the mill
| Grist | grain brought to be ground |
|---|---|
| Toll | the miller’s share for grinding |
| Bolter | the sieve that sifts the flour fine |
| Middlings | the coarse part, for feed or regrinding |
| Millwright | the maker and keeper of a mill’s works |
In eight lines
- The promise. A church, a school and a mill: the mill was the economy.
- The King’s Mill. A double mill, grist and saw, grinding by 1796, burnt by accident by 1815; its foundation at the end of Mohawk Street.
- How it works. The river turns the wheel, the wheel turns the stone.
- The ladder. One bushel: $9 grown, $50 ground, $240 baked, $300 sold, $2,400 as sandwiches.
- The lesson. Own only the first rung and you sell at $9 and buy back at $240.
- The Mohawk Mill. Stone-ground flour and Haudenosaunee white corn meal.
- A first mill. 500 kg a day: about 58 acres of wheat, four people.
- Its mark. Every bag with its Record Code, sold for the Grand River dollar.
The printed poster
Download the poster as printed, A3, full quality: the-mill.pdf