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You are here: Home / Kentucky / And Now It’s Running!

And Now It’s Running!

May 4th, 2014 by  Sallie Bingham   in  Kentucky, Philanthropy 4 Comments

From the series: Wolf Pen Mill Farm

 

Benjamin Hassett, the talented and experienced millwright I have been lucky to find to work on my old mill, sent me these brief videos of the millstone turning—for the first time in three decades.

Before I left Louisville for Santa Fe, I did manage, with help, to get the old unreconstructed mill wheel to turn, running water through a white plastic hose from the millpond because the original sluice was so deteriorated. But I only tried the experiment once because as the great wheel turned, off balance, the whole stone structure shook and shuddered until it seemed likely it would fall into the creek. You can get a sense of the noise the mill stone makes as it turns by listening to the video. To that was added the loud creaking of the old, half-broken wooden machinery and the rush of creek water over the protesting wheel.

All that has changed now, due to Ben’s diligence; for over a year, he has been traveling from his home in Virginia to doctor our beautiful but fading mill. And the result is we have already had a few test grinds, with corn, and made tentative plans for a grand opening, for neighbors and supporters of River Fields (the enormously successful conservation organization that holds the easements on Wolf Pen Farm as well as many other farms in the area) to gather and tour the mill (it is actually three stories tall!) and perhaps take away small sacks of the ground corn, to make corn bread. Eva Lee Smith Cooper, who owned the farm and the mill for decades, once ground corn for the L&N railroad dining cars, but later health regulations prevented her or us from selling the meal. Apparently you have to have a bathroom on the premises to make that possible.

The Wolf Pen Mill millstone is turning for the first time in three decades!

Never mind. The small paper bags of meal—we hope to copy the logo Mrs. Cooper used—will bring delight to all the people who have been involved with the mill for years or are just beginning to feel its enchantment.

 

A detailed history of protecting the Wolf Pen Branch Farm’s mill with River Fields and the Kentucky Heritage Council is available on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s website.

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In Kentucky, Philanthropy Benjamin Hassett Eva Lee Smith Cooper L&N River Fields Wolf Pen Mill Farm

Sallie Bingham is a writer, teacher, feminist activist, and philanthropist.

Sallie's most recent work is titled The Blue Box: Three Lives In Letters, published by Sarabande Books in 2014. Her forthcoming book, The Silver Swan: Searching for Doris Duke, will be published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in May 2020.

Sallie's complete biography is available here.

 

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Comments

More comments for this post can be found on Facebook

  1. James Voyles says

    May 4th, 2014 at 12:53 pm

    Thank you, Sallie, for this unique, important gift. We are enriched in perputuity by your generosity.

    Reply
  2. Journey McAndrews on Facebook says

    May 4th, 2014 at 4:40 pm

    Thank you for all that you do and have done. When I saw this post, my heart beat faster. I know this place. It is where I was welcomed to create art. To dream while I was awake. No matter where I go or what I do, that first time at HH will always mark the moment when I felt like “a real artist.” Thank you for giving me such a gift. <3

    Reply
  3. Bonnie Lee Black says

    May 5th, 2014 at 10:35 am

    So exciting to see — and to read about! Thank you, Sallie, for your generosity.

    Reply
  4. Patricia Utley says

    February 3rd, 2016 at 3:46 pm

    Thank you so much Sallie! Your generosity will never be forgotten!

    Reply

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