To the Editor:
I read with much interest the article “Local mills ground grain…” in the Nov. 23, 2023 issue of The Altamont Enterprise.

Readers may be interested in touring the Hanford Mills Museum, which is located in East Meredith, New York just east of Oneonta. At this historic working mill site, one can see a working water wheel and steam engine.

Knowledgeable and enthusiastic guides give small groups a tour of the various functions such as milling, power tools for making wooden boxes, and a sawmill. They provide an understanding of the historical progression of the economy in that area.

The tour kept the interest of my 8-year-old grandson who received a board shaped and joined by the machine as a souvenir. It was quite thrilling when they opened the sluice gate, starting the wheel to spin driving belts that made the whole building come alive with vibrating mechanical power.

At the end of the tour, they use the water-powered vertical saw blade to saw a hemlock log into boards. In the winter, they have a demonstration of ice-harvesting on the mill pond, which I look forward to seeing.

Charles Trout

Altamont