George Washington’s Grist Mill

This video, made by George Washington’s Mount Vernon in 2013, shows how Washington's grist mill operated. First, the millworker adds the grain to the hopper over the grinding stones. The sixteen-foot indoor waterwheel turns the master gear, which sets the process in motion. This water power eventually rotates the top grinding millstone against the stationary bottom stone, grinding the grain. The grain escapes through a chute into a container on the ground floor. A conveyor belt then lifts the flour or cornmeal back up to the second floor for flogging and sifting. George Washington’s gristmill was operated by hired and enslaved millers and could produce between five and eight thousand pounds of flour and cornmeal a day. The recreated grist mill at Mount Vernon is fully operational and seasonally open for tours.