Water Technology in Both My Sons by Ken Yoder Reed

Greenywalt, the immigrant father in Both My Sons, is a miller and sets up the first mill on the Pequea Creek in Pennsylvania to grind wheat into flour for local use and export to Philadelphia. This contemporary picture of Herr’s Grist and Sawmill on the Pequea is typical of early Pennsylvania gristmills. Water running down a race drives the large wheel and powers internal gears that grind grain between two huge stone millstones. The miller receives raw grain from farmers and grinds it for a percentage of the proceeds of flour.