Waterloo Village Grist Mill
Sussex co. | New Jersey | USA
Watersource: Musconetcong River
Waterloo Village Grist Mill
Four miles north of CR 604's origin at U.S. 46 in the center of Hackettstown, turn into the entrance to Waterloo Village Historical Park near Cranberry Lake.
Low-built 2.5 story stone mill originally built by the National Biscuit Company Inc., at Waterloo just south of Stanhope, N.J. This early industrial pioneer village complex included an early iron forge, grist mill, settler's store, blacksmith forge, early farmsteads, church and various other houses and businesses of that day. View of the front of the mill.
Lower level view of the race inlet into the mill with the working 10'x4' wooden wheel. Waterloo Village is open daily in summer for a nominal charge. The entrance fee is well worth the attractions within. One building is a restaurant and some snack food is available, but it was not overly commercialized in October 1992.
Note inlet arch in the background between the stair railings. The waterwheel is just behind the two face wheels with the wooden cogs. The face wheels are on the shaft that is turned by the water flowing over the breast wheel and turning the face wheels so that the cogs engage the lantern gear(wallower) which is on a vertical shaft. Each of the two shafts with lantern gears can be engaged to the face wheel or disengaged. The shaft from the lantern go up to the next floor and turns the upper stone upon the nether stone, of the sets of millstones, to grind grain. Wooden shovel hanging on post was used to minimize possibility of causing sparks when mill worker shoveled grain. Sparks, especially in a flour mill, could cause dangerous even fatal explosions.
Another picture showing the front and east side of the mill with the race coming into the mill through the arched inlet(forebay area).