Ortonville – It started as a plan for an educational exhibit but through precise handcrafting from members of the Brandon Seniors woodworking club, the miniature scaled model of The Old Mill is more than a dream.
‘It’s spectacular,? said Tom Stowell, president of the Ortonville Historical Society.
‘My idea was to have a simple exhibit to explain how the mill worked when it was a grist mill and this is beyond that.?
‘They took the ball and ran with it’and scored a touchdown,? Stowell said.
Less than a year ago Stowell and historical society member Dean Salley began making plans to produce a miniature mill replica to explain the grist mill process.
Norm Mallory, who teaches woodworking at the Brandon Senior Center agreed that the club would construct the mill.
Dean Salley offered space in his woodshop and club members have been working on the one-twelth replica.
Because there was little historical record on the construction of the mill Mallory said the club researched basic construction methods by measuring every inch of the 100-year- old structure to insure dimension accuracy.
In addition, the group began researching 1880s function methods of mills from Detroit, Hadley and Atlas.
Currently the Atlas mill is a functioning facility at Crossroads Village in Mt. Morris Township, reassembled there from Atlas in 1975. The club made several field trips to Crossroads Village to dissect the structures assembly and moving parts.
‘We discovered that the Hadley mill, which was built two times, was rebuilt around the same time as the Ortonville and Goodrich (mills), by the same builder,? Mallory said, adding that the fluting (or hews) on the support beams were identical which, says Mallory, indicates the same builders.
‘We don’t have documentation on who actually built it but Amos Orton had it done,? Mallory said.
‘The trademarks are that the fluted support columns are all made the same way so we decided they were made by the same person. I suspect each mill was modified to fit the landscape.?
The group discovered that building a nonfunctional replica would not accurately depict The Old Mill. So to enhance the purpose of the educational exhibit, Mallory explained that the replica will have a working elevator driven by a miniature three story belt which will attach to a power source in the lower level of the structure.
The basic process of a mill is to grind grain into flour and Mallory said it will be complete with auger, chutes, and grindstone to demonstrate the process.
For observer convenience, Mallory said the structure is wired with lighting and portions of the roof will include Plexiglas viewing windows to demonstrate how the model was authentically constructed.
The piece has been engineered in sections so that it can be taken apart, like a jigsaw puzzle, in order to move it. In addition the group of 10 to 12 volunteer builders will write an assembly instruction book for future generations.
While researching the mill took many months, the woodworking club began construction before the research was complete so the original design has been revised several times. So far they have worked nearly 600 hours.
Nearing completion Mallory said not including vendors and material suppliers, it has taken nearly a dozen people to build the replica which should be completed before Septemberfest.
Historical Society President Stowell said there is room at the Mill for the educational display and he is looking forward to presenting demonstrations of the functioning mill to the Septemberfest and Christmas in the Village visitors.