The History Of Millwright's:

         The millwright of the 17th and 18th Centuries was quite different from
the millwright of today.  He was a master craftsman who completely designed
and constructed mills.

        Water was the only natural power source of the day, and James Watt
had only just perfected the steam engine by the mid-18th Century.  Water was directed over hand
constructed wooden mill wheels to generate power.  Millwrights executed
every type of engineering operation in the construction of these mills.
They designed the patterns of the water wheel systems, carved their gear
mechanisms, and finally erected the mill machines.

        Sir William Fairbairn, a millwright of the late 19th Century, wrote in his
"Treatise on Mills and Millwork, "...the millwright of the late centuries
was an itinerant engineer and mechanic of high reputation.  He could handle the axe, the hammer, and the plane with equal skill and precision...he could set out and cut in the furrows
of a millstone with an accuracy equal of superior to that of the miller himself."

         The millwright of yesteryear was generally trained in arithmetic and geometry and his occupation
demanded application of such principles.  According to Fairbairn, his knowledge and abilities seemed unlimited.
"He could calculate the velocities, strength, and power of machines, could draw in plan, and section,
and could construct buildings, conduits, or watercourses, in all the forms and under all the conditions required in his
professional practice..."  In short, the millwright of past centuries performed the work of a civil
engineer, designing and carrying out most of the mechanical operations in the United States.

        The introduction of the steam engine gave freedom to industry.  It created many new trades,
as industry was no longer dependent on water as its sole power source, and it thereby
modified the millwright's all encompassing role.  As the means of generating power became
more complex, work became more specialized.  Turners, fitters, machine makers, and mechanical engineers
evolved to do the work that the millwright had originally done completely by himself.

       In the latter part of the 19th Century, iron and steel became increasingly important
in the total American industrial picture as society made use of new metal
machines and began to conduct its operations on a much larger scale. 
This too changed the traditional job of the millwright who was accustomed to working with wood.

       In 1919, James F. Hobart wrote in his book, Millwrighting, "The ancient type of millwright has passed
away.  He has gone with the old time carpenter and obsolete shoemaker - the former with 500 pounds of molding
planes and woodworking tools, the latter with nothing but pegging and sewing awls, hammer, and knife..."

       The millwright no longer planned and designed the machines.  His role now consisted of executing the plans
 produced by a designing engineer.  On occasion, he would be called upon to finish and perfect the work
of the designer as well as supply most of the minor engineering.  He had to have a good technical education
as he was responsible for calculating the strength of materials and the resultants of forces, as well as for reading
drawings, understanding electricity, and building with metal.  His work was now beginning to resemble
the work of today's millwright.

       Millwrighting of the late 20th Century is an occupation which demands precision and high skill.  Today's millwright
is concerned with the precision-fitting of machinery to tolerances of a thousandth of an inch.  It is the millwright
who installs and aligns heavy industrial machinery, including conveyor systems, escalators, electric generators, and cyclotrons,
 and insures that they operate efficiently.  He even puts into effect the vast and complex machines of the nuclear age.

         Times have really changed.  The responsibilities and functions of today's millwright have shifted as society has become more and more complex and industry oriented.
  Over the past several hundred years, the working world has changed drastically.  The millwright, in turn, has successfully adapted himself to these changes, and remains an integral part of today's working community.

Millwright Ron

"THE TRADE OF ALL TRADE'S"