Between the 17th and the early part of the 20th century, the average New England town
was self-supporting-food, clothing, and shelter were all produced locally. Grain needed
to be ground, trees needed to be cut, and wool needed carding. The New England colonies
were generally short on man power, but had plenty of streams and rivers for water power.
These small industries provided goods and employment. Mill ponds additionally served as
village playgrounds, providing swimming and fishing in the summer and ice skating in the winter.
The leading types of early American mills were grist mills and saw mills.
Grist mills produced food for sustenance and saw mills produced lumber for barns,
houses, and ships. Since wheat was not well-adapted to New England soil or climate,
bread was commonly made from a mixture of corn and rye flour. Grist mills were
constructed in almost every New England settlement and provided flour and meal
for baking, as well as food for livestock. A miller could charge a fee or toll of
1/16th of the grain brought to him for milling, although this was eventually replaced by cash fees.
To meet lumber production needs, up-and-down sawmills were common prior to 1840. In the
next few decades, up-and-down sawmills were replaced with more efficient circular saws.
Clapp's mill was first built as an up-an-down saw mill. It is thought to have been
powered by a large, wooden undershot waterwheel located just north of the mill.
During operation, the valve of the dam gate opened and water rushed through the
wooden flume, under the wheel. This provided turbine water wheel power to drive-using a
metal crank and metal connectors-the main sawframe, the carriage-return, and possible
additional wood-working machinery in the ell. Each time the sawframe was raised in its
stroke, the log moved slightly toward the carriage. The saw cut only on the downstroke,
assisted by gravity. The loud, thumping cadence could be heard throughout the neighborhood
during the late winter and early spring, when water power was most abundant and the
demands of farming were less pressing (1).
Despite the abundance of these mill sites, only a small number have survived.
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