32 A Bridge To The Past

William Clark bought the Schurman home in Wilmot Valley and arranged to purchase the sawmill and land from the executors. The deed was drawn up in 1826 and about three months later most of the land was bought back by the Schurman family. Provision was made by a bond dated latenthat year for Clark to operate a grist mill that he had lately erected on the Wilmot River. By some bond or deed not on record, he also retained control of the sawmill. It would take a little time for the name to change from Schurman’s Mill to Clark’s Mills but the operator of a combined grist and saw mill operation in the 1820’s would soon make a name for himself.

People from miles around were soon finding their way there by horseback, horse and cart, team wagons and sleighs, bringing their wheat to be ground into flour, their oats to be dried in the kiln and made into oatmeal, and their barley to be pearled. With roads being widened and improved the man with a good team of horses could stack a few bags of wheat for the grist mill on top of the load of logs destined for the saw mill.

The miller was an important man in the community. He was in a position to meet and talk with farmers from near and far. If only a few minutes were spent with each one in discussing weather, crop conditions, roads and politics the miller would have a general knowledge of the local economy. While he talked he kept a close check on the wheat which was moving on its way to be ground between the two huge mill stones, and watched the coarser products of bran and shorts as they were diverted to their separate sieves. Each man’s grist was carefully weighed and measured and a portion was kept by the miller. This was called “toll” and was his payment for grinding.

Clark ’5 Pond and Rolling Bunk.