The Jamestown windmill

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JAMESTOWN WINDMILL

MAUD LYMAN STEVENS

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NEWPORT, R. I.
REMINGTON WARD, PRINTER, CLARKE STREET

1916

The Jamestown Windmill

MAUD LYMAN STEVENS

There lies, near the mouth of beautiful
Narragansett Bay a pleasant island, still
retaining its Indian name of Conanicut. Par-
allel with the island of Rhode Island, and
not more than two miles distant from it,
it is even nearer to the mainland on the other
side, here called the Narragansett country.
Nine miles in length and with some di-
versity of high and low lands, Conanicut
affords a variety of delightful views, and has
preserved, to a remarkable extent, its country
like appearance, in spite of its close proxim-
ity to so fashionable a sqmmer resort as
Newport.

Just at the most convenient part of the
island for passing, a long road stretches
across from side to side, connecting the two
ferries that ply in the bay, and affording a
convenient route from Newport to the main-
land, and so on to Connecticut and New
York. Where this road crosses the island,
many houses cluster, churches and school

houses appear, and it is plain that this is
the permanent settlement of a real little town,
with town hall, library and all the para-
phernalia of modern life.

This is Jamestown, the central part of
a township, which not only embraces the is-
land but also Gould Island to the East and
Dutch Island to the West, two small is-
lands which have not preserved in common
speech their Indian names, Aquipimokuk and
Aquidnesset, as has their larger neighbor.

Jamestown in its more settled part, has
a modern look, and one must look farther
out in the island for the few old houses that
have survived the ravages of titme and the
perils of war. Its history belies its fresh
and modern air. however, for it is an old town,
as towns go. Two hundred and thirty-eight
years have passed over its head, . since that
November day in 1678, when it was organized
as a town and received the loyal name of
James Towne, for King James, first grand-
father of the Charles of the day, or possibly
in compliment to James, Duke of York, later
to be James II, as some think.

Our first acquaintance with Conanicut in
history is coeval with the genesis of Rhode
Island. It was in 1638, at the beginning of
the year, as March used to be considered,
that William Coddington, Roger Williams and
perhaps John Clark as well, journeyed to
Aquidneck and Narragansett to obtain a deed
2

of land whereon a new state might be found-
ed. William Coddington was the head of
the band of colonists desirous of making a
settlement, Roger Williams, already comfort-
ably placed in his little town of Providence,
his kind assistant in the (matter.

For love and favor and for payment In
wampum, generous for those days, they ob-
tained from the Narragansett Sachems, Con-
anicus and Miantonomi. the grant of "the
great island of Aquidnicke" and also the right
to use the "marsh or grasse upon Quinunicutt
and the rest of the islands in the bay" here-
abouts.

It has been said that Conanicut was a
favorite summer residence of the wise old
chief, Canonicus. Certain it is that during
his life time the use of the marsh grass on
the island satisfied the Newport men, and
no effort was made towards a purchase. It
was not until 1657, nearly twenty years after
the settlement of the larger island, that a
deed was obtained to Conanicut.

In the year before, an active and enter-
prising man had come to Newport, deserting
Providence, where his father had been one
of the first settlers, for the more prosperous
town. This was Benedict Arnold, soon to be
governor of the colony, a merchant, and
one. it would seem, desirous of a position
as a landed proprietor. He acquired a goodly
number of acres in and about Newport, and
3

then turned his attention to the islands still
held by the Indians.

There had been some trouble about the
use of the grass in the year of Arnold's ar-
rival, which probably caused the Newport
men to realize that Conanicut was of con-
siderable value to them. At any rate Arnold
succeeded in persuading a large number of
persons to join with him in the purchase,
among them William Coddington himself,
Francis Brinley, a prominent merchant, Caleb
Carr, later to be governor; it is said nearly
a hundred in all. One of their number, Rich-
ard Smith, Jr., was familiar with the Indian
language and methods, through his father's
dealings with them in his trading house at
Narragansett. He made the agreement with
the Narragansett chief, Cashasaquoont, or
Cajanaquant, as his nafne is sometimes writ-
ten, the consideration being one hundred
pounds in money and several gifts. Posses-
sion was given by Turf and Twig in the old
English fashion.

A town side was planned, the intention be-
ing to follow the model set by Newport,
though with somewhat different proportions,
it being planned to give one acre as a home lot
to twenty acres of farm land. To the South,
twenty acres were reserved for prison
house, artillery garden and burial place. It
is probable that it was proposed to set the
town in a general way where the present
4

settlement is. The plan, however, was never
carried out. The lands were held in common
for eight or nine years, and then divided
among the original purchasers, and those
whom they admitted as inhabitants with
them. Each received land in proportion to
the amount of money that he had put in. The
town was never formally laid out, but the
houses naturally clustered about the two
landings, more especially that on the New-
port side. Arnold and Coddington, as largest
purchasers, were given first choice of the
lands, and Coddington chose land at the
North end of the island, Arnold a rocky
hill or neck of land to the Eastward, pro-
bably what is now called Potter's or Tailor's
Point. He also acquired the whole of Bea-
ver Tail. William Brenton, another large land
proprietor, owned at what is now the Dump-
lings.

It would seem that this attractive purchase
was not pleasing to the state, cutting ofT
as it did the useful supplies of marsh hay
frqm the people in general, for in the year
after the transaction was completed, the
general assembly forbade any person,
"stranger or other" to imake further purchase
of land or islands from the Indians, save
by express order of a court of commissioners,
acknowledging, however, that the purchase
of "Quononagutt Island" could not "now bee
made voyde."

5

For twenty years then, the Hulls, Carrs,
Weedens, Arnolds and Bulls enjoyed their
island farms, until the density of population,
and perhaps some diversity of interest,
seemed to warrant a separation from the
mother town, and in 1678 on petition of
Caleb Carr and Francis Brinley, "Quonono-
qutt Island" was "made a towneship" under
the name of James towne. To show its relative
importance at this time it may be said that
four days after its formal acceptance as a
town, Jamestown was assessed, "for the pay-
ing and defrayeing of the Collony "debts" the
sum of twenty-nine pounds, the same as
Block Island; while Providence, impover-
ished by the recent Indian war, paid only
ten, and Warwick escaped with 40 shillings,
Jamestown was only temporary more im-
portant than Providence, however, as is
shown by the rate of 1671 where Providence
pays thirty-seven pounds to Conanicut's fif-
teen.

During this time and, indeed, all through
Jamestown's history, its inhabitants were en-
gaged in agriculture and the raising of stock.
The large farms were cultivated and planted
with crops of barley, rye, oats and more
particularly the Indian corn, always a fav-
orite grain with planters in Rhode Island.
Our corn, traditionally a special variety ob-
tained from the Indians, is quite different
from that found in other sections, and seems
6

to require the mild island air to bring it to
perfection. In early times it was one of the
chief articles of diet, and with the pumpkins
that were grown in the cornfield, bravely-
supplemented the rich stores of sea and for-
est that were to be had for the taking. The
corn, to be used, must be ground. This was
done in early times by pounding it with
a pestle, Indian fashion, either in a hollowed
rock or the scooped-out trunk of a Sfnall
tree. Later small hand mills came into use,
and as soon as it was possible or convenient,
a water mill supplied the needs of the in-
habitants. Our first Rhode Island settlement,
(as distinguished from Providence Planta-
tions) was Pocasset or Portsmouth, and here
the building of such a mill was ordered at
once. Newport, from the time of its found-
ing, followed suit. Water mills were, how-
ever, a manifest impossibility in James-
town unless, indeed, a tide mill had been
set up. The next step was the windmill,
the first of these, erected in Newport, being
built in 1663. How early the sister town
had a windmill we cannot say. It has been
thought, from old stones found further
North, that there was imore than one. How-
ever this may be, our first positive record ap-
pears in 1728. In July of that year the pro-
prietors and freemen at a quarterly meeting
voted the erection of a windmill. "Ordered:
that Richard Tew and David Green go and

buy stores and irons for the building a Wind-
Mill, and the money to be paid out of the
Treasury, Ordered: that Richard Tew and
Thomas Carr provide lumber for the afore-
said Wind-Mill." At the next quarterly meet-
ing the plan was somewhat changed. Rich-
ard Tew and Thomas Carr were now to have
authority to buy a mill complete, and the
charge to be paid by the town treasurer.
It was by no means unusual, but rather the
rule for the Newport windmills to change
their position, but it is hard to see how "a
mill complete" could be brought across the
water, unless on some kind of raft.

In the following April it was voted that the
town treasurer hire sixty pounds of money
for the use of the mill. It would seem that
all was well and truly done, for in the next
year, 1730, at the May meeting, it was "Voted:
that the mill be fitted upon ye town's charge
and the keeper of said mill to deliver her in
the same good order as he received her."
This is all we hear about it for eight years,
when it being perhaps found advisable to
make some one man responsible for the mill,
it was "Voted: that Nicholas Carr have the
mill that is erected in Jamestown at ye public
charge of the town for his own proper estate,
forever. He, ye said Nicholas Carr, paying
the sume of fifty pounds into the town treas-
ury, and be obliged to keep said mill in good
repair for and during the term of twenty
8

years. If ye main part of said imill with good
management will stand so long, and to give
a bond of one hundred pounds for the true
performance of all ye above articles with ye
town clerk, who shall receive ye same."

Immediately after this, comes the vote
that Richard Tew "shall receive ye above said
sum of fifty pounds upon ye towns' account"
and then — the rest is silence. How the mill
prospered, what occurred at the end of
twenty years, its final destruction — all these
are unrecorded. Its position was, however,
it is probable, the same as that of the present
one. upon Mill Hill, high land and easily ac-
cessible from the main settlement, as well as
near the old ferry road that crosses the
island from side to side, north of that now
used.

We may conclude that this is the "Old
Post-Mill." concerning which T. R. Cole speaks
in the Jamestown section of the "History
of Newport County." This old first mill, he
says, was built on the principle of a turnstile.
The top and shaft were immovable, but when
the wind changed, a yoke of oxen was hitched
to the end of a long lever and the whole
building, which stood upon a single post or
pivot, was turned until the arms of the shaft
came face into the wind. This seems a cum-
brous arrangement and unique hereabouts,
though it has been said that the Old vStone

9

Mill required a yoke of oxen to turn its head,
so that the sails might come into the wind.

Supposing this to be the mill on Mill Hill,
precursor of the present one, it appears cer-
tain that it met its fate either within the
stipulated twenty years or immediately after,
for by 1760 it would seem that there was no
windmill in Jamestown. The question was
thus agitated. "It being put to vote whether
a windmill should be built in this town, it
was passed in the negative." Eight years
later "Voted: whether to raise one hundred
dollars to assist Isaac Rowland in building
a Wind Mill and passed in the negative." It
would seem that no mill was built, which was
perhaps just as well in the troublous times
to come, when those malign visitors, the
British and Hessians, under Wallace, visited
the island and burned the greater part of the
village.

Certain it is, that at the close of the Revo-
lution in January, 1787, we again find the
question of a windmill mooted. At this time
a committee was appointed to inquire on what
terms a windmill could be built in the town,
what the cost would be and who would un-
dertake it, and to make report thereon.

The committee's labors seem to have been
successful, for in March it is voted, that the
town petition the General Assembly for a lot
of an acre where the old mill formerly stood,
and set a windmill on it. The petition was
10

favorably received, and the reply of the As-
sembly is duly recorded in Jamestown's book
of Land Evidence. This is the text of it.

"In General Assembly, March, 1787, upon
the petition of Town of Jamestown.

"It is voted that this petition be received
and so far granted that one-half acre of land,
being part of a farm lying upon Jamestown,
which did late belong with Col. Joseph Wan-
ton, an absentee, and was confiscated to and
for the use of this state, be set off and as-
signed to and for the use of the inhabitants
of Jamestown for a special purpose, and upon
terms they erect and keep in repair a good
wind mill for grinding grain, to be and re-
main to and for their use for so long time
as said windmill, when erected, shall be kept
in order for grinding. That Mr. John
Weeden be, and hereby is, appointed to set
bfif the exact measure, one-half acre of land
at or near the place where the former mill
stood, bounded westerly on the highway;
that he erect bounds and monuments, and
make a plat thereof, and return the sajme to
this Assembly. That same lot be fenced and
enclosed at the expense of the inhabitants
forever hereafter, the fences to be by them
maintained for inclosing same. That if said
mill be not erected within one year, or shall,
after the same is erected, become useless for
two years, this grant is to be void, and the
11

land is to revert to and for the use of this
State."

The land on which a site for the mill was
thus granted was part of the farm of Colonel
Joseph Wanton, a Tory, and eldest son of
that Governor Joseph, who was deposed by
the people for his Loyalist proclivities. The
younger Joseph had himself twice acted as
Deputy Governor under Stephen Hopkins at
an earlier period. He had received a college
education, going to Harvard at the age of
sixteen and a half, and had his residence in
the beautiful old house on the Point in New-
port now known as the Hunter House. His
friend, Stephen Hopkins, says of him: "I
hear it said that he is a proud, foppish fellow,
wears ruffles and laced clothes, and will not
take any notice of, or speak to, a poor man.
This is an unworthy calumny of his enemies,
he has been gently bred and received a
liberal education which (has) matured and
polished a sound understanding and enter-
prising genius. In General Assembly he re-
markably and invariably appeared to be the
poor man's friend." These were times of a
marked difference between high and low, but
the portrait of Joseph Wanton, Jr., while it
certainly exhibits the ruffles, shows as well
a pleasing countenance, which indicates per-
haps some obstinancy, but is not marked by
the haughtiness so noticeable in his father's
likeness. The Colonel, because of his prin-

12

ciples, was much thrown with the British,
and it is probable that he retired with them
on their evacuation of the town of Newport,
for in the following year he died in New
York, August 8th, 1780. He is styled in his
obituary notice "Superintendant General of
Police in Rhode Island," though necessarily
only an absent one, as Rhode Island, by this
time, was free of British and Tories alike.

Thus at the time of the granting of a half
acre of Joseph Wanton's confiscated land he,
though called in the deed "an absentee," had
in reality been dead nearly seven years. He
had married twice, the second time a daugh-
ter of Jahleel Brenton, another prominent
Newport Tory; in 1775, Governor Joseph
Wanton died at nearly the sa^me time as his
son, and the young widow, accustomed to
every luxury, found herself "reduced to dif-
ficulty and distress for the necessaries of life,"
and, with husband and father-in-law gone and
property confiscated, was obliged to petition
the legislature for the use of the farm in
Jamestown, late belonging to her husband.
Her son, Joseph Brenton Wanton, was at
this time, March, 1781, only two years of age.
The committee, appointed to lease confiscated
properties, was thereupon empowered to
lease the farm and pay the rent thereof to Mrs.
Sarah Wanton for the ensuing year. Appeals
continued to be made until 1787 by the "next
friend" of the little boy, for the rents of the

13

farm, which were in this year granted, after
a committee had inquired as to "what was
justice." Mrs. Wanton's difficulties had, how-
ver, been solved some time earlier by her
marriage in 1784 to William Atherton of
Jamaica. It is interesting to know that de-
scendants of Joseph Brenton Wanton still
cherish, in England, a portrait of him at the
age of 70; showing a fine and thoughtful face.
Deputy Governor Wanton's memory was
long preserved on his farm by the lane next
south of the wind mill, until recently called
Deputy Lane. It is now known as Weeden's
Lane. The Wanton farm at a subsequent
period passed into the hands of the Watson
family, by whom it was long retained. It
was finally sold by the heirs of Weeden Wat-
son to Mr. George Carr. The old farm house
was standing, considerably modernized, until
within a few years, when it was destroyed by
fire.

So much for the site of the wind mill on
Mill Hill. The new mill itself was, it would
appear, paid for, in part at least, by the sale of
the highways "running between the North
Point Farm and Jonathan Hopkins and Tidde-
man Hull's, and the highway running through
Joseph Martin's farm." The wind mill being
built, as was speedily the case, the next step
was the securing of a miller. He was found
in the person of one Jethro Briggs, who was
to give a bond in money or "as much Indian
14

corn as one hundred dollars will purchase"
for the faithful performance of his duties. In
the following year we see him installed.

"March 25th, 1788. Voted and resolved by
this meeting that the wind mill which is now
erected and belongeth unto Jethro Briggs,
shall take the toll of three quarts for grind-
ing one bushel, and no more. It is voted
by this meeting that Jethro Briggs give his
obligation for two hundred bushels of good
merchantable Indian corn unto the town,
upon them giving him a lease of the mill lot
as long as he keeps the mill in good repair
for grinding." Neither Mr. Briggs nor any
miller who might succeed him was to be al-
lowed to go without oversight, for at the
next meeting the town council was author-
ized to "have the care and oversite of the
said wind mill, concerning taking more toll
than is lawful, and removing the miller that
shall be found in such act." Sad to say,
jethro Briggs seems to have removed from
Jamestown and neglected the mill, for in
1793, five years later, Samuel Carr is ap-
pointed a committee to go to Newport and
have a conference with him, "concerning the
wind mill and his attendance thereof, and
inform him that the town in general is very
much dissatisfied with bad attendance given
at said mill."

On May 25th, 1795. and for three succes-
sive weeks this advertisement appears in the
15

"Newport Mercury." "To be sold at public
vendue on Monday, the 22d day of June
next, at 11 o'clock A. M. on the premises,
A Wind Mill and Dwelling House at James-
town." The mill was sold on the day speci-
fied and bought by Benjamin Carr of James-
town, but he goes on record in the follow-
ing August that he, "for divers reasons
thereunto me known" yields up his "right,
claim and demand of and with a certain dwel-
ling house and wind mill, which I purchased
at Vendue on the 22d day of June last of
William Battey, vendue master of said town
of Jamestown." Perhaps this transaction was
in satisfaction of a claim on Jethro Briggs,
unless we accept the hypothesis of a second
mill then existing, for in January, 1796.
Jethro Briggs conveys the mill to Nathan
Munro in fee simple, in consideration of 301
Spanish silver milled dollars, thus finally
severing his connection with it.

From this time on we can trace an un-
l)roken series of owners, who in most cases
were also millers. The list and the gradual
rise in price as it passes from one to another
may be interesting.

Nathan Munro held it over thirty years,
conveying it in 1827 to Caleb F. Weaver for
$700. Caleb Weaver kept the mill as long as
he lived, it being disposed of after his death
to William G. Carr in 1847, the consideration
being $1,250. William G. Carr sold it within
16

the year to Arnold Hazard, receiving $1,800.
Arnold Hazard gave Job W. Hazard a quit
claim deed, in 1850, the sum agreed upon be-
ing $1,025. Job W. Hazard, after five years,
passed it on to John W. Potter, who paid
$2,150 for it. During Mr. Hazard's ownership
of the mill it was run for a time by Mr. Eben
Tefft, now the oldest citizen of Jamestown.

John W. Potter held it until 1874 and then
disposed of it to his brother, Isaac W. Pot-
ter, for $3,000. This was high water mark
for the old mill. Its next sale, in 1882, was
for $1,525 to Elijah Anthony, still living
in Jamestown and one of the well known
family of Rhode Island. Mr. Anthony so.d
it in 1883 to Willia/m A. Barber, who, then
as now, resided near the mill, in the fine old
Weeden place on "Deputy Lane." Mr. Bar-
ber disposed of it in 1888 to Philip A. Brown
for $1,550; Mr. Brown in 1893 to Mr.
Thomas A. H. TefTt. Mr. Thomas TefTt after-
wards removed to New Bedford and his
brother, Mr. Jesse TefTt, now resident in
Jamestown, was, I think, the last to run the
old mill in 1896.

It now remained idle for several years, un-
til in 1904, a number of ladies, both permanent
residents and summer visitors, interested
themselves in the valuable old relic. It was
discovered that the old mill was being torn
to pieces by the tenants at that time in the
small house adjoining and the feeling was
17

mill is once destroyed, no amount of money-
can ever replace it. Not only is it an object
general that so interesting a link with the
past should not be lost to Jamestown.

Accordingly a determined effort was made
to raise the money for its purchase. In this
Mrs. Frank H. Rosengarten of Philadelphia
was largely instruonental, giving a whist
party in its behalf at her house and per-
sonally circulating subscription papers.
Many were interested to give, including a
number of Jamestown people and the major-
ity of the summer visitors then on the island.
The circular, drawn up at the Carr home-
stead and setting forth the wishes and plans
of those who had the scheme at heart, is
here given:

"We, the undersigned, hereby pledge our-
selves to give the amounts written opposite
our names, for the purpose of purchasing and
repairing the old wind mill. It has been as-
certained that the mill and land enough to
drive around it with right of way thereto,
can be purchased for a maximum sum of
three hundred dollars and repairs sufficient
to keep the mill standing for many years can
be made for four hundred dollars. Unless
these repairs be made at once, it is evident
that the old structure .must soon be a thing
of the past, for it cannot stand through an-
other winter in its present condition. We
earnestly believe that this destruction should
18

not take place before our eyes without an
effort on our part to prevent it; for if the
of beauty in itself and a fine specimen of
a type of building very rare in this country,
but it is one of the few remaining links which
bind us to the past, and almost the only
object of interest of which Jamestown can
boast. We therefore believe that the afore-
mentioned sums of money cannot be better
expended than in preserving this old land
mark for future generations."

This strong appeal met with a ready re-
sponse. During the summer the sum named
was raised and the purchase was made of
the -mill, and the land on which it stood. An
approach was necessary, and the half acre
of land to the south and towards the road
was given for that purpose by Miss Louise
Carr, who, with her mother, owned the old
Wanton farm. The legal expenses of the
transfer of this piece of land were borne by
Mr. Theodore B. Stork of Philadelphia. Ad-
miral Taussig, long a summer resident here
interested himself in looking up those refer-
ences to the mill in the town records, upon
which part of this paper is based. That fall,
repairs were begun, and the old structure
so strengthened as to ensure a new lease of
life for Jamestown's much valued relic.

The deed remained in the hands of Mrs.
Rosengarten until 1912, when she became
anxious to arrange for a more permanent or-
19

ganlzation. Accordingly a Historical Society
was formed, its members including both sum-
mer and permanent residents, Miss Lena
Clarke of Jacnestown being its first president.
The object of the society was to preserve the
old mill and also to interest itself in local
history in any way possible. Monthly meet-
ings have been held since the society's in-
ception with most interesting programmes on
many occasions, persons who were qualified
to speak, giving talks on Jamestown's history
and that of Rhode Island in general. The
society is now anxious to acquire quarters
of its own, where meetings may be held and
books and collections preserved.

In the summers of 1913 and 1914. most in-
teresting loan collections were exhibited un-
der the auspices of the Historical Society,
the first of a general nature, showing many
interesting articles of home manufacture, the
quaint garb of an earlier generation, and
valued heir looms of various sorts, the
second more especially for china, pewter and
sliver. Further repairs were by this time
urgently needed on the wind mill. A heavy
stor<m, which had also done much harm to
Newport mills, so injured the arms of the
mill that several of them had to be practically
rebuilt, with a resulting debt for the society.
This was met by a tea held in the Jamestown
Casino, which was kindly lent for the occa-
sion. The Historical Society bids fair to con-
20

tinue its usefulness for many years, and has
undoubtedly a most valuable possession in
the old mill. As these old mills have nearly
all disappeared, this is perhaps the only so-
ciety of the sort with such a treasure and
responsibility. The President of the His-
torical Society is now Dr. Bates of James-
town.

The mill as it stands at present is exter-
nally in its original condition. Within, un-
fortunately, the depredations already alluded
to, have entirely destroyed its ancient appear-
ance. Hopper, meal chest, stairs even were
broken up and burned. Nothing remains but
the mill stones which are in a somewhat
unusual position. Most of these old mills
are what is known as "double gear," a part
of the machinery being under the lower mill
stone, or bed stone. This ;mill is "single
gear." finding room for its reduced number
of wheels in the attic story above. Thus it
is not necessary to raise the stones as high
as the second story, but instead they rest on
a low platform. The second story was used
simply as a store room.

Though the mill has been thus stripped of
its fittings, the society has been fortunate,
during the past summer, in the gift of a hop-
per from a disused mill in Narragansett, pre-
sented by Mr. George Clark, of Shannock,
R. I., and it is hoped that this much appre-
ciated addition may be supplemented in the
21 . .

future by other fittings. The society is anx-
ious to restore the old features now, while
there are those still living who can give exact
information on the subject. It would be a
most interesting thing to see the mill once
more in operation, and the miller again with
his toll dish, taking his share from the corn
brought in to be ground. A further ambi-
tion of the society is to acquire the little
house adjoining, which could be rented to
some person who would see that no harm
befel the old mill.

The Jamestown wind mill is precisely like
those in Rhode Island, once so numerous,
now, alas! reduced to a poor three or four.
Unlike those formerly to be seen in Massa-
chusetts, there is no gable, the head being
round and the structure octagnal, reminding
us of the old Stone Mill with its eight piers.
The head or bonnet is movable, working on
rack and pinion, with a large wheel on the
side opposite to the sails and is drawn around
by ropes to face the wind. On the right, on
entering, is usually the rough stair by which
the second story is reached, in the centre the
meal chest and spout from which the warm,
delightful smelling meal comes out and at the
back a hatch to allow of the hoisting up of
bags by a pulley. Everything is thickly pow-
dered with meal; sacks stand about, waiting
perhaps for the freakish wind; a small stove
22

affords the miller a modicum of much needed
wanmth.

The trade of a miller must have had its
charms. He was, in the first place, the centre
of much coming and going. No doubt all the
gossip of the country side reached him, the
mill, like the blacksmith shop, being a place
of enforced waiting, as the grist slowly
passed through the stones.

Eating meal was ground in this mill, of
clear corn, and also "feed," barley and corn
or oats and corn mixed, for use in feeding
stock. Usually only a bushel was ground at
a time, though the hopper, heaped up, would
hold perhaps five bushels. The time con-
sumed in grinding varied according to the
wind, from a half hour to three times that
period. The meal could not be ground fast,
as this heated it, destroying its fine flavor.
The slight irregularity of the wind favored
the grinding of corn, the perpetual slackmg
and starting again preventing overheating.
There was always a good market for Rhode
Island Johnny cake tmeal, but it was difficult
to get the right kind of corn. It had to be
a year old to make good meal, and judicious
millers were very careful in its selection.

The mechanical handling of the mill re-
quired a good deal of skill. The sails had to
be reefed in stormy weather and furled at
night, and just as the good sailor tends his
sheet, the miller must keep his hand on the
23

pole, slightly varying the pressure of the
stones, as the wind increases or diminishes.
Uneven meal would result from lack of care
in this direction. It was work that called for
experience and judgment. The stones, too,
often wore smooth, and had to be picked up
with a bundle of pointed steel rods, kept for
that purpose. For a time after this roughen-
ing, there would be some loose grit on the
stones, and it was usual to run through feed
for cattle for one or two grindings, but it is
a tradition of this \mill that if the miller was
a Democrat he would choose the time imme-
diately after picking up the stones to put in
a Republican's grist! Another factor in the
grinding of corn was the direction of the
wind. The miller hailed a steady southwest
wind as coming from the best possible direc-
tion. The northwest was too pufTy and un-
certain to make even meal.

It seems a great pity that so picturesque
a vocation as that of a miller should now
have become almost a thing of the past. We
are told that the giving up of our own mill
was due to the competition of Western corn,
which made it less profitable for the farmers
to raise their own. Now, however, with an
increased population and a ready market, it
seems as if it might again be put into opera-
tion, were the restorations carried out. Corn
meal, as every one knows, is only good when
freshly ground, the large amount of moisture
24

in the errain causing it to become musty if
kept for any length of time. It is to be hoped
that through the efforts of the old mill's
friends we may, at some future time, see it
working again, as in Nantucket, where the
miller sells souvenir packages of meal to all
comers. Valuable as it is in its present con-
dition, it would be doubly interesting if in
actual running order.

In the preparations of this brief sketch of
the old mill and its history, thanks are due
to Mr. Elijah Anthony, Mr. William Barber
and Mr. Jesse Tefft for information given,
more especially in regard to technical details.

It has seemed fitting to conclude with a
poem written in 1905 in loving memory of her
old home by a Jamestown lady, Miss Jane
Eliza Weeden, at a time when she was far
from the island and its associations:

The Jamestown Wind Mill.

When from life's strenuous duties I retreat
And in some vine clad arbor take a seat.
My mind reverts with pleasure for a while
To that old Wind Mill on our sea-girt isle.
Which erst has ground from corn and gol-
den grain
A healthy nutriment for brawn and brain.
I seem to see that boy on horseback still
Who, with old Dobbin, took our grists to
mill.

25

And poured them all an oaken chest within
Corn meal and rye, two bushels in each bin;
A third compartment of the oaken chest
Held sieves and rolling pins and all the rest.
This imill was builded in the olden days
When real brown bread was beyond all

praise;
When mother's griddle cakes were good

enough,
And her crisp doughnuts more than rings of

puff.
When farm house plain held more of home

and heart
Than did the mansion in a city's mart.
Its founders doubtless were high minded men
Who knew what should be done and how and

when.
Such men, inspired by manhood's noble zeal,
Have always wrought for God and human

weal.
And so our heroes may be classed with those
Who make the desert blossom as the rose.
The summer folk, who saved this prize to

fame
May also boast of its untarnished name;
Its millers, trusted as of honest soul
Unchallenged, took their share of grain for

toll.
And tho' with changing wind, its sails went

round
Unchanged and pure was every grist it

ground,

26

Like the Friend's Meeting house, its neighbor

there,
The mill still stands upon its hill site fair,
As if to watch the boats that glide alway
O'er the blue waves of Narragansett Bay,
Free from the pressure of vain-glorious

strife.
Type of the truly grand — the simple life.

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