In mining camps waterwheel mills stamped and washed ore; in logging and wood industries they powered saws, shapers, planers; for small communities they were the power to grind grain, saw lumber, and generated electricity as well as providing a roof to house the community’s first Post Office. In many thriving industrial towns they milled, sawed, smelted, carded, stitched, and more. Paper Mill Hollow was a thriving industrial community in North East, Pennsylvania. It had 21 waterwheels on Sixteen Mile Creek and its tributaries. In Connecticut, they boasted of being able to see seventeen mills from one spot in the river.
    For the garden layout, the mill with a visible turning waterwheel is among the favorites – especially for curious grandkids. The mill also provides additional sound and motion to add for your water feature - pond, stream, and waterfall. With a pump as small as a “fountain” pump, a waterwheel - overshot or undershot – can turn on a mere pencil lead's width of water. Water can come from anywhere . . . a spring in the rocks, a cave, a pond, a passing stream, a waterfall, penstock, even a diverted water sluice. Just think, the longest sluice or flume in the U.S. was 55 miles (Lumber industry, California).
    One key element to creating a realistic mill is the use of real stone and cement. Stone and Cement – just like the surving mills needed for their foundations to live in water. When you use real stone (gleaned from a stream bed or at a nursery, a quarry, or otherwise) you won't need to color it. It can even grow some moss on it. Just remember to model with a portland base concrete that has a slow set. The best modeling cement that we've found (and we've tested many) is a vinyl patch cement used to repair concrete drives. It feathers to 1/8”. Is strong for car traffic and holds up to the elements without sealing. If you have "made faux stones" (Jigstones) or used a quick set, post cement made with gypsum, this type of cement requires substantial sealing to survive in the elements.
    Several years ago when we wrote “How to Model Waterwheel Mills” for garden railroads, we discussed the critical working elements of a mill as seen in our travels. We simplified the details the sluice, mill building,wheel and water flow control and tried to make it understandable to the non-engineer reader. We were impressed, by the uniqueness of every mill. . . as unique as the miller or community who built it. No two were alike. As garden railroaders, we do not enjoy seeing the same buildings on many layouts. We like to see the ingenuity of the owner. However, a few readers who bought the book, noted that we failed to provide The Plan for a mill. We got an e-mail from Bruce Chandler of the Jackson & Burke Railroad saying, “Well, it’s finally done! . . . I’ve attached a picture. . . .”
Wow. A truly unique mill. So we offer his website, http://www.jbrr.com/html/stone_mill.html Bruce showed his method of making plans for his mill creating a simple mockup in cardboard so he could visualize how it might fit in the garden. He didn’t base his design on any real mill, but freelanced concepts using a lot of different mill pictures and ideas. He started with a rough cardboard model, just like we do. If you have some time, check out his website. He uses the techniques we've developed in How to model in Stone & Cement book.
    If you find that you'd like to know more about real-life mills, enjoy the information found through The Society of for the Preservation of Old Mills. www.spoom.org. Get yourself ready for some "milling around" with side trips to mills. AND some good field and picnic trips when you take along the grandkids. One proud mill model builder jokingly comments about his mill, "There will be an argument when he's departed as to 'Which grandchild gets granddad's mill?'
    Waterwheel & More