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August 19, 2025

The Importance of the Mill - Water, Wind, and More

Three evenly spaced stone walls, about six feet high, surrounded by trees.
Remnants of the mill race of a major pulp mill, Harpers Ferry, WV, USA

You've probably, at some point, met a "Miller." It's a pretty common English surname. (Did you know it was Agatha Christie's maiden name?)

In a Medieval village, the mill was central. Milling technology brings people together for one simple reason: It's far more efficient to mill all the grain in one place than it is to have each family have their own millstone.

But it took technology to reach this point.

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