Laughlin Mill
First, in line, William Laughlin built a three-story log gristmill on the Cumberland County frontier. In order to generate power to turn the grindstone, he built a dam that provided water power equal to that of fifteen horses to turn the waterwheel. Laughlin's was the first mill on Big Spring and it ground wheat and other grain for the people in the surrounding countryside. Laughlin's mill continued to produce whole wheat flour until 1896 when the Laughlin family sold it to the Newville Water Company, which removed the milling equipment and installed a turbine to drive hydraulic pumps that supplied the town's municipal water mains.
Laughlin Mill
First, in line, William Laughlin built a three-story log gristmill on the Cumberland County frontier. In order to generate power to turn the grindstone, he built a dam that provided water power equal to that of fifteen horses to turn the waterwheel. Laughlin's was the first mill on Big Spring and it ground wheat and other grain for the people in the surrounding countryside. Laughlin's mill continued to produce whole wheat flour until 1896 when the Laughlin family sold it to the Newville Water Company, which removed the milling equipment and installed a turbine to drive hydraulic pumps that supplied the town's municipal water mains.