Now, primarily thanks to the generous philanthropic support of the Theresa Narkiewicz Schneider Trust, BIG projects are scheduled to begin at the Frank Adams Grist Mill and Riverfront Park!
Jancewicz & Son completed repairing and re-slating the roof of the mill and a new and historically appropriate handicap access to the mill has been added.
Please help us raise enough money so that we can get this gorgeous piece of history fully restored. Become a member by pushing the DONATE button on any page or by mailing in your membership fee/donation to BFHS, PO Box 176, Bellows Falls, VT, 05101,
For it does belong to everyone in the community and it preserves the history of almost two centuries of our Village and Town.
Not only is the mill fully intact but it is also chock full of 19th century tools and machinery unique to Bellows Falls.
Mary Ashcroft put it best almost 40 years ago in
"The Secrets of The Old Mill"
The title sounds more like it belongs to a Nancy Drew mystery story, but this article can only begin to describe some of the venerable treasures housed in the old Adams Grist Mill Museum. From the amazing carpentry of third floor grain bins – whose sides contain enough two-by-four bards to provide sturdy studs for several modern houses – to the remnants of the old silted-in flume and water wheel in the sub-basement, the mill has much to offer the casual stroller or the dedicated historian.
For a business of its type, the grist mill is virtually intact as it was on the day its doors closed in 1961. All the grinding machines, the electrical fuse boxes, the old style motors are still in place, and even in operable condition.
The chutes, elevator shafts, storage bins and transfer pipes are available for inspection as well. And for that unmistakable touch of authenticity there is plenty of grain dust, which seeps out of cracks and sifts down from overhead bins to keep mill-sitters busy with broom and dust cloth.
The Adams Grist Mill is a unique storehouse for precious historical artifacts of local citizens, too. Tucked in corners and displayed in show case (they, too, are authentic donations from local businesses) are mementos from days gone by. There are advertising fans and brochures, American flags with all number of stars, pictures of old Bellows Falls and even older grand gents and ladies. (Since this letter we have moved all ephemera and textiles out of the mill to a safer more appropriate location).
The modern secretary can gaze with awe at the "Latest" in office machines – spidery typewriters, adding machines and ledgers kept in the loops and curlicues of old-fashioned penmanship.
For the homemaker, the mill features a display of the march of progress in washing machines: from washboard, to washtub and rinse tub in stand, to the automatic wringer-washer. There are also ice-boxes, and a "new" refrigerator with a circular superstructure that gives the machine the look of a space-age robot.
Of course, a display of American home life wouldn’t be complete without a spinning wheel, the newfangled sewing machines, yarn winders, and a complete set of modern kitchenware.
Local business establishments in the Bellows Falls are well represented. The Vermont Farm Machine display includes everything from swing butter churn, to butter press, to dog and sheep power, to cream separator. The tourist's dream, the Island Hose resort spa, can be seen in all its glory in pictures, and its old guest book can be examined for clues to long-lost relatives.
Framing tools and good old-fashioned Yankee inventions abound at the mill. Do you know what a sheep poke looks like, or an adze, or a collection of barrel makers' tools? Have you ever seen a seed broadcaster, or a flax comb or molds for a butter press?
Mary Ashcroft. "The Secrets of The Old Mill." The Shopper. Wednesday July 30, 1980
The mission of the Bellows Falls Historical Society is to establish and maintain a museum for the exhibition of historical artifacts and implements relating to the history and growth of the area in and around Bellows Falls and the Town of Rockingham.
Donate
You can also donate by check payable to “BFHS” and mailed to P.O. Box 176, Bellows Falls, VT 05101
VISIT the BFHS!
BFHS Archives, Education Center and Museum, 31 Westminster Street, Bellows Falls
Frank Adams Grist Mill, 20 Mill Street, Bellows Falls is open 11-3, Saturdays and Sundays. Memorial Day weekend through the Saturday of Indigenous Peoples’ weekend. He Mil closes on October 13 and will re-open in May of 2025.
