Showing posts with label flume. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flume. Show all posts

Monday, May 09, 2011

The Ruins of Stevens Mill at Stone Flume

Stone Flume (1 of 1).jpg
Stone Flume as viewed from our house.

Across the road, at the top of the beaver bog, is Stone Flume. I found the name on an old town map. May Brook flows from May Pond and down the flume, through the beaver bog and over Dam #5 on its way to Crystal Lake. The kids like to go and slide down the flume in the summer. But there is another attraction there: ruins of an old mill. There are still iron spikes in the granite ledge of the flume where the mill was attached to the rock. There are stone walls and a foundation that you can explore. This is the best time of year to see the ruins because the foliage hasn't grown up and buried it. Here are some photos of the ruins that I took on May 1 when we walked over to visit.

Mill Ruins at Stone Flume (1 of 16).jpg
A deep crack in the granite ledge created by the expansion of winter ice.

On old maps this mill is called Stevens (or Steven’s) Mill. I haven't been able to find out why, but when I do I'll post the information. I assume that a family named Stevens lived in the house closest to the mill. I don't know if they milled grain or sawed lumber.

Mill Ruins at Stone Flume (3 of 16).jpg
The west side of the mill's stone wall.

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The other, east side, of the wall.

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Thursday, April 28, 2011

VIDEO: Stone Flume

This is the flume across the road at the top of the beaver bog. May Pond Brook runs into the bog over this flume. The kids slide down it in summer. At one point, you will see our white house with Barton Mountain behind it. I started the video on the bluff at home, at rush hour, and unfortunately a car went by. Then you see the swollen brook rushing out of the woods and down the flume into the bog. You will hear John suggests I slide down the flume with the camera for a better angle. Sure I will!

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