Wapsipinicon Mill in Black & White (Original Photography)

While taking a driving break in Independence, Iowa, I decided to take a look inside an interesting building next to the park we had stopped in. I had been through the area several times, but it always seemed to be closed. It turned out to be the Wapsipinicon Mill which, according to Independencia.com, began service as a flour mill in 1854. It is, now, a sort of museum and contains many fascinating pieces of machinery.

^{Wapsipincon Mill and Dam}
While the history is interesting, the imagery is my primary fous. More information on the structure's history can be found in the links at the end.

^{Wheels of the Past}
These wheels wer likely used in conjunction with belts to power the various examples of gear-driven machinery that was used in the milling processes of the day. The mill has many windows, which cast the interior in a beautiful diffused light. I don't remember seeing any electrical lighting, aside from the lamps in the lowest (underground) level.

^{Going Up}
Here is a view up the stairs to the second level. The roof beyond contains a slanted piece which is a grain chute. A century ago, wheat or oats may have slid down this beam into a storage bin below. The woodwork inside the mill is impressive. There were no electric tools to use, when this was constructed, and there are thousands of custom-sawn boards and beams.

A SMUTTER?! I had to look this one up, and it gives the modern use of the word smut an almost poetic meaning. Smut, it turns out, is a term for the impurities in wheat grain. A smutter, like the one seen here, separated out these impurities.

^{Smutter Stamp}
Not just any smutter! A "horizontal, adjustable smutter!" Back when things were made of wood, they used to stamp the information on them. This one also had a sticker, which time seems to have all but destroyed.

^{Lots of Gears}
I'm not sure what this one did, but it also had more than a few gears. It would have been fascinating to see it in operation and try and figure out how it worked.

^{Grain Moving Shafts}
These were really long shafts, perhaps twelve to fifteen feet in length, with little slats that would have rotated and pushed the grain along. No longer needed, several of them lean aginst a wall, waiting for "some day."

^{Another "Gear Thing"}
Links:
Independence, IA Website
Buchanan Couty History Website

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