Millstones used to be critical to America's food chain. Until the late 1800s, when steel rollers began to take over the job, flour was made by grinding grain with heavy millstones turned by water or wind power. But before you could grind the grain, you had to make the millstone--a thoroughly non-trivial process. Steve Schimmrich, the Hudson Valley Geologist, enlightens us.
What amazes me about these millstones is that they were carved by hand! The Shawangunk Conglomerate is composed entirely of quartz - quartz pebbles and sand cemented by quartz (silica) cement. It's harder than granite.
Photo by Steve Schimmrich.
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