Millstones

My seventh site visit was at the millstone next to the Gorham Municipal Center. I say this millstone when I was coming out of the town hall after finding information on exactly who is buried in the South Street Cemetery. This millstone was part of the Gorham Lions Restoration project in 2009. Also, this specific millstone came from the Clement family in 1804 were it was used to grind corn on the Little River as the plaque pictured below states.

Historical Importance: Millstones were important to farming communities in Maine. First, millstones grind down grains to be used in making food like bread. In addition, these stones became a primitive form of mass production. In turn helped farming communities economy because they could produce food faster , more produce more food than before, and provide food for consumption for  the ever growing population of Maine Next, millstones could grind down metal ore before smelting the metal down to make tools. Which helps produce many different products faster. Finally, millstones and the many rivers in Maine helped lead to the growth of the factory cultures in places like Saco and Biddeford and helped improve Maine's economy. 

Sources

:http://www.millstones.com/history.html