Old Stone Mill NHS - The Delta Mill Society

History

Owners and Millers
research by Wade Ranford, listing compiled by Ken Watson


Owner              Miller*         Dates           Notes
William Jones
1808-1811
-- -- Jones purchases land from Abel Stevens, construction of mill started in 1810, completed by March 1812
William Jones
1812-1831
Ira Schofield 1812 Jones got married that year
-- Jones & Schofield 1813-1815 Mill operated under the partnership of Jones & Schofield (details and exact timelines unclear)
-- William Jones 1816
-- Jones & Schofield 1817
-- James Schofield Jr. 1818-1819 In 1818, Ira Schofield leaves the Delta area. In 1819 Jones mortaged the mill for £1,358 to his brothers Charles and Jonas Jones
-- William Jones 1820-1825
-- none 1826 Mill idle that year
-- J.K. Hartwell & James Schofield Jr. 1827-28 Leased to James Schofield Jr. and later to J.K. Hartwell & Schofield
-- none 1829-31 mill appears to have been idle. Jones dies in 1831
Charles Jones
Amelia Jones
Henry Jones

1831
-- -- Mill goes to William's brother Charles. He sells it for a nominal sum to William's widow, Amelia. She sells it to Henry Jones for £500
Henry Jones
1831-1835
Edward Matson 1832-1834 Mill leased to Edward Matson
-- none 1835 mill dormant - put up for sale
James & Amelia Macdonell
1836-1847
James Macdonell 1837-1847 Macdonells purchase mill for £500. They immediately mortage it for that amount to Alexander Grant. Amelia was William Jones widow. They add 2 additional runs of stones (later removed)
Amelia Macdonell
1848-1849
Amelia Macdonell 1848-1849 Amelia continues to run the mill after the death of James. Uncertain what help she had in operating the mill.
Walter H. Denaut
1850-1889
William Bush

Charlie VanLuven
? Denaut discharged three existing mortages on the mill and in 1851, invests £ 2,600 (~$400,000 2022$)in repairs.
It's unclear if Bush was the miller for the entire time of Denaut's ownership
In 1861 Denaut invests $20,000 (~$700,000 2022$) builds the turbine shed and installs 2 turbines. Denaut generally had 3 to 4 employees in the mill. Bush may have been an earier miller for Denaut with Charlie VanLuven as a later miller (uncertain)
Caroline Denaut
1889-1893
James L.S. Denaut 1889-1893 James was the son of Walter & Caroline
George Haskin
1894-1912
? Purchases the mill for $6,000 on October 5, 1893. Haskin had a steam engine installed in 1899. It was removed in about 1904.
Hastings Steele
1913-1962
? Original purchase for $8,000 on March 14, 1913 done in partnership with James Huffman. In 1914, Steele took full control and entered into a new partnership with Omer P. Arnold which lasted until 1921. In the 1920s & 30s, Steele was assisted by his son W.R. Steele. Flour milling ceases c.1942. Feed milling and sawmilling continue to 1949. Mill just used as a feed and electrical equipment store after that.
The Delta Mill Society
1963 to present
-- -- In 2010, the Delta Mill Society restored a pair of working millstones to the mill and grinds wheat on a demonstration basis.


* Only in a few instances is a specific miller known (i.e. William Bush), in other instances it is simply inferred since owners (except for Walter Denaut) were mostly hands-on operators. References to specific employees are rare.

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