Examples of Lesson Plans for Historical Mills
Outreach Program: Milling Technology of the Early 19th Century by Theodore R. Hazen Program suitable for either auditorium or smaller size classes. Supplies provided by interpreter include slides and mill hand tools (mill pick, mill bill thrift, paddles, scoops, flour sack and a copy of The Young Mill-Wright and Miller's Guide ). Interpreter needs use of slide projector and tray. Interpreter will dress in traditional costume of a 19th century miller.
The student will develop a basic understanding of early 19th century mill technology.
The student will see a slide program and be able to handle simple hand tools used in a flour mill.
The turning point in milling was the remarkable individual Oliver Evans. He eliminated forever "the bag and shoulder boys" who had made the mill run. Oliver Evans replaced their labor with "improvements", as he called them, which consisted of the elevator, the conveyor, the hopper boy, the drill, and the descender. Oliver Evans described his improvements in The Young Mill-Wright and Miller's Guide, first published in 1795.
1. Students will learn a general overview of various types of mills (wind, water and tidal power); types of water wheels (horizontal and vertical); changes in the milling industry from the Greek and Roman mills to finally those brought about by Oliver Evans. 2. Students will learn how millstones grind grains into flour. They will see the tools used in dressing the millstones and learn about the itinerant millstone dresser. 3. Students will learn about the folklore and culture of milling terminology and how it is still present in our language, 'water over the dam', 'show your mettle',...
1. Students are asked what projects could they do to learn more about old mills (example, find out what mills might be around where they live, visit an old mill, ask their parents and grandparents what they remember about old mills, make drawings of mills, models, look in libraries, etc.)
OUTREACH PROGRAM: Milling Technology of the Early 19th Century LESSON TOPIC: Milling Technology TEACHER: Theodore R. Hazen GRADE LEVEL: 4th to 6th DATE: March 1997 OBJECTIVES: 1. The student will develop a basic understanding of early 19th century mill technology. 2. The student will understand the three types of mill which operated historically during the time of the early settlers. 2. They will recognize the basic equipment used in processing the wheat into flour. 3. They will be able to deduce the benefits of the terms "barter" and "toll" when the early settlers brought grains to the mill to be milled. 4. The student will define the term "staple of life" and will explain its importance to an individuals diet and survival. RATIONALE: The turning point in milling was the remarkable individual Oliver Evans. He eliminated forever "the bag and shoulder boys" who had made the mill run. Oliver Evans replaced their labor with "improvements", as he called them, which consisted of the elevator, the conveyor, the hopper boy, the drill, and the descender. Oliver Evans described his improvements in The Young Mill-Wright and Miller's Guide, first published in 1795. Program suitable for either auditorium or smaller size classes. Supplies provided by interpreter include slides and mill hand tools (mill pick, mill bill thrift, paddles, scoops, flour sack and a copy of The Young Mill-Wright and Miller's Guide ). Interpreter needs use of slide projector and tray. Interpreter will dress in traditional costume of a 19th century miller. INSTRUCTIONAL CONTENT:
A. Historical Mill. B. Self Introduction. C. Program Introduction.
A. Identification of a mill. B. Time line of various types of mills. C. Milling came to America from Europe. D. Various types of mills used by the early settlers in Virginia and the colonies. E. Was milling a seasonal activity, only done at the time of the year when grain was harvested?
A. The miller who runs and operates the mill. The miller may or may not own the mill. B. The millwright is the person who builds and fabricated the mill and its machinery. The millwright locates a site to build a mill. He also repairs the machinery in a mill when needed. C. The itinerant millstone dresser dresses the millstones for the miller or the mill owner. Many millers in America had to learn to dress their own millstones.
A. The traditional pre-settlement European technology ("low milling" technology). B. The Oliver Evans automated milling system of 1787. C. The New Process milling system of the 1850's and 1860's ("half-high milling" technology) which involves regrinding middlings on smaller diameter millstones. D. The Roller Mill system of the 1870's ("high grinding," or "gradual reduction" technology), which incorporated the New Process milling system and the use of the "roller process." This process of "wheat saw milling" was developed by Hungarian engineers in the mid-century.
A. The grain and flour were stored on floors in the open. A factor leading to contamination of the grain and flour. B. The grain was often contaminated before it came to the mill from the threshing process and the millers had no way of cleaned the grains. C. A great deal of labor was involved in the milling operation. D. Each step was an individual process which had to be completed before going on the next step. E. The millers work station was in the basement where the flour or meal came out. It is damp and cold there which effected his health. The miller needed to be with his millstones. F. No one realized there were problems with the milling business. If a mill wanted to increase production it had to increase in size and labor. PROCEDURE:
A. Compare modern methods of grain milling with historical process. B. Students will learn a general overview of various types of mills (wind, water and tidal power); types of water wheels (horizontal and vertical); changes in the milling industry from the Greek and Roman mills to finally those brought about by Oliver Evans. C. Students will learn how millstones grind grains into flour. They will see the tools used in dressing the millstones and learn about the itinerant millstone dresser. D. Students will learn about the folklore and culture of milling terminology and how it is still present in our language, 'water over the dam', 'show your mettle',...
A. The student will see a slide program and be able to handle simple hand tools used in a flour mill.
A. Ask students could they live on just bread? B. Discuss what types of bread did the early settlers eat as compared to what we find on modern tables today. C. Ask the students to go to the local grocery store and look at all the bags of flour. What type of mills produced the flour modern or old, large or small, was it locally made or shipped in from another state?
A. Ask students to compare modern methods of milling grain with the mid-1800's ways of milling grains. Which is better? Why? B. Are there benefits and effects of modern flour milling? C. Ask students to compare modern methods of power used to operate mills to day as compared to types of power used in the mid-1800's for milling grains. Which is better? Why? MATERIALS NEEDED: 1. Slides. 2. Slide tray, slide projector. 3. Mill picks. 4. Grain scoops, wooden paddles. EVALUATION: 1. Observe how easily the students learn the basic steps of processing wheat for the milling process. 2. Ask the students to list the basic steps of grain milling. 3. Ask the students to identify the tools used historically by the early millers. 4. Ask the students do you think about how the grain is processed and individuals used to further process the grain into flour and eventually into bread. EXTENSION: 1. Students are asked what projects could they do to learn more about old mills (example, find out what mills might be around where they live, visit an old mill, ask their parents and grandparents what they remember about old mills, make drawings of mills, models, look in libraries, etc.)
OUTREACH PROGRAM: Milling Technology in Early America LESSON TOPIC: Milling Technology TEACHER: Theodore R. Hazen GRADE LEVEL: Kindergarten-3rd DATE: March 1997 OBJECTIVES: 1. The student will develop a basic understanding to identify mills from other early 19th century buildings. 2. The student will understand that water and wind mills were operated by the early settlers. 2. They will recognize the basic equipment used in processing the wheat into flour. 3. They will determine the value of the terms "barter" and "toll" when the early settlers brought grains to the mill to be milled. 4. The student will identify the term "food staple" and will explain its importance, using the concept of different food groups. RATIONALE: The first American mills began to be built as soon as the miller erected a shelter for his family. In many areas the miller and the mill was ready to grind before other buildings were constructed, such as meeting houses, schools and churches. The first American mills were essential to the existence or success of settlement. Many early mills did not have much charm for their main reason for being was that the miller could grind the grains of the early settlers. There are many symbols of the mill, such as the millstones, the turning water wheel, the windmill sails, the mill dam. The mill too must be the symbol of man's life in literature, work and diet. America and the colonial period became the time of "The Jolly Miller." The public attitude toward the average miller in England and Europe was one of suspicion and accusation. Millers were considered so dishonest that they were not allowed by law to form guilds (or unions). In America there was the freedom to go any mill you wanted. "Soke rights" required the peasant to only go to the lords or masters mill. So news of an "honest" miller who collect a fair toll for grinding grain was news to be spread around the countryside. Laws regulated the miller's allowable toll and toll dish. "Millering" gradually became a "trade" like wheel-wrighting or tinkering. Milling was a craft that was learned through apprenticeship and people were not allowed to be in the mill while it was operating to prevent people from learning the miller's secrets. The changes brought about by Oliver Evans in the late 1700's gradually changed how milling was learned from a craft to a trade. Program suitable for either auditorium or smaller size classes. Supplies provided by interpreter include slides and mill hand tools (mill pick, mill bill thrift, paddles, scoops, flour sack and a copy of The Young Mill-Wright and Miller's Guide ). Interpreter needs use of slide projector and tray. Interpreter will dress in traditional costume of a 19th century miller. INSTRUCTIONAL CONTENT:
A. Identification of a mill. B. Time line of various types of mills. C. Milling came to America from Europe. Early windmills were brought disassembled in ships and reassembled here. D. Various types of mills used by the early settlers in Virginia and the colonies. E. Was milling a seasonal activity, only done at the time of the year when grain was harvested? How does ice, flooding effect a mills operation?
A. Water or stream powered mill. It rains and water flows to the sea. These mills are effected by ice, flooding, drought. B. Wind mills. Wind mills are generally built along coastlines and are effected by storms, too much wind or not enough wind to operate. C. Tidal (hardest concept to understand) mills. Tidal mills are generally built along coastlines and are effected by storms, but not effected by ice, seasonal flooding or droughts. The problem is they are operated by the tides and are operated in the middle of the night because that is when the tides are also operating. D. Steam powered mills. Mills could be moved away from the streams and flooding. Mills could be constructed where ever the grain supply is even if there are not streams to operate a mill.
A. Millstones operate in pairs. There is a lower stationary millstone called the "bed stone." Another millstone revolves above it which is called the "runner stone." B. The grain is poured through the hole in the center of the upper turning millstone called the "eye." C. As the grain travels outward in a spiral pattern it encounters a series of lines or grooves in the millstone. These grooves are called "furrows." D. The pattern of the upper and the lower millstone are identical. This can be seen when the upper millstone is taken off the spindle which turns it. E. When the millstone is place on the spindle which turn from through the center eye of the lower stationary millstone the pattern from the lower to the upper is reversed. F. There is a scissors cutting action that takes place between the passing furrows of the upper and lower millstones. G. The millstones never touch and the distance between the millstones regulate the coarseness or fineness of the grain being ground. H. The average millstone 48 inches in diameter turns at 125 revolutions per minute and can grind 300 to 500 pounds per hour. Each kernel is in between the millstones for 3 and one half revolutions and encounters 225 pairs of crossing furrows cutting it like a pair of scissors. PROCEDURE:
Historical Mill: Water-Powered Flour or Grist Mill LESSON TOPIC: Milling TEACHER: Theodore R. Hazen GRADE LEVEL: 4th to 6th DATE: March 1997 OBJECTIVES: 1. The student will understand the who the miller was and why he was important to the early settlers. 2. They will recognize the basic equipment found inside the grist mill. 3. They will be able to understand that the miller and his apprentices were craftsman who deserves special recognition. 4. The student will define in special terms from other craftsman because he worked with simple tools often of his own design and creation producing a basic food stuff known as flour and meal. RATIONALE: The miller was a professional and pioneer industrialist who worked in the only mechanized process of the time. The miller transformed sacks of raw grain into flour and meal from the farmers laborious harvest. Milling folklore reflect the publics attitude towards the miller found in traditional tales. In the 1780's Isaac Birkerstaff in England wrote the "Jolly Miller." It about the miller at the Chester Mills on the River Dee. The Jolly Miller
A. Historical Mill. B. Self Introduction. C. Program Introduction. D. Safety message.
A. Discovery of agriculture and the milling of grains. Wind power first used in ancient Persia 3 thousand years ago. The Greeks developed the horizontal water wheel 2 thousand years ago and the Romans developed the first vertical water wheels. Tidal power has been in use for 1200 years. The first wind mills were brought into Europe by the Crusaders. B. Yield of wheat - prepared for the mill. Failed wheat a good man with a fail could fail 7 bushels per day. The wind was used to winnow the wheat removing the useless chaff so the clean wheat could be bagged for the mill. Today a modern harvester can cut, clean and harvest 200 bushels per hour. C. Corn which was shucked and shelled by hand through many months of shelling. D. What part did milling play on the thrust forward to civilization? Who were the first millers in most civilizations? Milling was originally done in the home and over time milling of grains moved to a separate place called the mill. E. The workability of wood gave inventors the ability to make moving parts with could be powered by wind, tidal and water power which the work was once was done by human hand, animal and slave labor.
A. Grain was brought into the mill for drying and storage. B. Human labor and water power was used to hoist the grain to the loft bins. C. The wheat and corn fell down chutes to fill the millstone's hoppers. D. From the hopper the grain fell into the shoe which scatters it to prevent the millstones from clogging. E. The damsel vibrates to shoe and shakes a constant flow of grain into the millstones to prevent overheating of the stones.
A. The miller adjusts his millstones while grinding. B. The flour and meal falls down the delivery chute into a bin. C. The miller adjust the texture and tenter of his stones to a papers thickness for a good fine grind. D. Millstones grind with a scissor cutting action. A good pair of millstones will last 100 years or more. E. The bolter sifts and grades the flour and meal. F. The miller and his world, the village mill, the mystery, sounds, smells and excitement of mills are portrayal in our minds, memory, and literature. G. Are there still mills, millers, millwrights and millstone dressers today?
A. Mills became places to learn the latest news and gossip. B. Early pioneers were amazed by the machinery which could produce 5 tons of flour per day. C. The romance of the turning water wheel. D. The besides the miller the cooper was important. He made the barrels to hold the flour. Each barrel was regulated by law which must hold 196 pounds of flour or 14 stone. Flour barrels were the universal shipping container. A good cooper could make two barrels a day and they would last 30 years. One man could roll or tilt a barrel. Mills measured their capacity in terms of how many barrels of flour they could produce in one day. E. Winter was used often to repair and maintain the mill. The apprentices would uncover the millstones and lift and overturn the runner millstone weight as much as 2400 pounds. The over turned millstone and lower stationary bed stone would be dressed or sharpened by the millstone dresser or the miller. Dressing was required of every pair of millstones every 3 weeks. It took 15 to 17 hours to dress one millstone. Millstones after dressing must be proof staffed and tested with a trammel to check the plumb of the millstone spindle to ensure proper running and balance of the runner stone. The millstones are reassembled and tested. A test grind and purge of the millstones to remove millstone chips. F. How did the miller get paid? The two types of mills are custom (grist) mill and merchant mill. In a custom mill the miller was paid for his services by collecting a "toll." Local laws regulated the amount of toll that a miller was allowed to collect. The usual toll was 1/6 for corn and 1/8 for wheat, or one gallon measure per bushel. A merchant mill the miller would purchase the grain from grain dealers and farmers and make a profit or loss on the sale of the flour. G. When did the miller operate the mill? Custom mills generally operated seasonally at harvest time and the miller may be the owner of the mill and had another occupation during the rest of the year. The merchant miller usually did not own the mill. The merchant mill being a commercial milling business which operated year around. PROCEDURE:
A. Compare modern methods of milling with historical process. Is it the same or has it changed? B. Demonstrate simple flour milling skills. C. Show the process from start to finish.
A. Students can see the raw grains and the final flour product after milling.
A. Ask students was any one in their families a millers? B. Discuss what type of world it would be if we never learned to use grains and there were never millers.
A. Ask students to compare modern importance of millers with that of the mid-1800's millers. Which was more important? Why? B. What are the benefits and effects of items made by the miller on our lives and culture? MATERIALS NEEDED: 1. Mill. 2. Grain. 3. Flour bags. 4. Mill picks, scoops, grain shovel and scales. 5. Water. EVALUATION: 1. Observe how easily the students learn the basic steps of processing grain into flour or meal. 2. Ask the students to list the basic steps in making a flour and meal. 3. Ask the students to identify the tools used historically by the early millers, millwrights and millstone dressers. 4. Ask the students is this there an end to the usefulness of millers in our world and in the future? The custom mills declined because of commercial flour and modern health regulations caused them to gradually go out existence. The rise of the merchant mill in the late 1700's was brought about by the improvements of Oliver Evans. The demand in Europe and England for white flour, along with the land wars of Europe increased grain production and the merchant mills grew in importance. Flour milling and export has always been one of America's top ten industries. Return to Home Page mailto:trhazen@hotmail.com
