Montana,

You may want to walk over to the Historic Preservation Department on
campus and talk to Dr. Don Peting. Last year he took his annual
historic preservation field school to the Boston Flour Mill in Shedd,
Oregon. The mill is still extant, (and works!) dating to I believe the
1870s, and is the last water powered flour mill in Oregon. Oregon State
Parks has just purchased the site, and will hopefully soon open it to
the public. The site is just up the road from Eugene, and down the road
from Salem, and it should give you an up close look at a similar
example to what you are looking at archaeologically. I believe Don's
students did architectural drawings and took many photos, so meeting
with him is highly advisable.

Best of luck

Robert Cromwell, M.A.
Archaeologist
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
612 E. Reserve St.
Vancouver, WA 98661

On Oct 18, 2004, at 11:00 AM, Montana Long wrote:

> I am involved in the relocation and excavation of a water-powered 19th
> century flour and grain mill which burned down in the 1860's near
> Salem,
> Oregon. This site is adjacent to a newer mill which may be constructed
> in
> part of salvaged materials from the burned mill. I am trying to gather
> sources which can help me to determine(if possible) the typical
> structural
> and technological design these mills had, i.e. what was the necessary
> geography for such mills, how big were they, what was the manner of
> their
> construction, and what we can expect to find in terms of material
> remains?
> Also of interest is how and where mill workers of this period lived.
>
> This project is in its infancy so even general information would
> probably
> be useful. I thank you kindly for your time and consideration
>
> Montana M. Long
> University of Oregon Graduate Teaching Fellow
> [log in to unmask]
>