What type of milling operation was the mill?
A. Was it a merchant mill, a custom mill or a combination mill (it did both). Many early mills were plantations mills, these operated much like the medieval feudal mills of Europe. Plantation mills usually had two pairs of millstones, one millstone for grinding wheat and for export, and the other millstone for grinding grains for plantation usage by classes. A good example of this type of mill is the George Washington Grist Mill, Historical State Park, Route 1, Jefferson Davis Highway and Dogue Run, Fairfax County, Mount Vernon, Virginia. B. Most custom mills had one or perhaps two pairs of millstones. One millstone for corn and another for wheat. Custom mills would have one or two pairs of millstones but usually not more than two pairs of millstones. The machinery is very simple, usually the millstones and little or no other machinery. The grain was not usually cleaned and it was often not bolted. If it was bolted it was done by hand or carried to a bolting mill where another toll wou
