Under the guidance of professionals Nick Bellantoni and Bruce Clouette, several FOSA volunteers (Dick Hughes, Mike Cahill, Scott Brady) provided invaluable assistance on a brief exploration of two locations relating to the Gurleyville Gristmill in Mansfield. (Photo 1) This mill operated from the 1720's until the 1940's, and the machinery within the building is "as is" from the date the mill was last in operation. (Open Sundays 1-4 mid-May - mid-Oct, free docent tour)

A sawmill ran off the same power train and abutted the stone mill building on the north side. It was removed in the 1960's, and all that remains is a 20^th century concrete foundation. As the owner of the property, Joshua's Trust (joshuastrust.org/), is planning to use the space within the foundation for public events, now was the time to see what if anything lay beneath this area.

A particular goal was to see whether the 19^th century turbine still was in place. About a week of digging revealed the end of the power shaft and showed that the turbine was no longer there.

With an enthusiastic crew and time remaining, the focus of work shifted across the street where early 20^th century photos showed a small building reputed to be a blacksmith shop. This rumor was soon confirmed by the large quantity of slag, iron bar ends, metal working tools (especially files) and horseshoe nails that were found in the area. However, no indication of the building's underpinnings were evident and all artifacts were found in the upper 4" of soil, immediately below an existing lawn area. Nearby were found several artifacts relating to the grist mill - a miller's pick (used to sharpen the mill stones) and a series of small "buckets" once used on a leather conveyor belt to move grain from one area to another within the mill. To see more detail on these two dig areas, you may follow these links:

Webmaster Note: The 2 links originally indicated...

> http://www.courant.com/community/windsor/hc-wn-windsor-state-archeologists-palisades-0804-20160801-story.html
        and
> https://picasaweb.google.com/104263598902125774931/GurleyvilleGristmillBlacksmithShopDig?authkey=Gv1sRgCKC4wbjA-YnhRg
      ...have been moved out of picasaweb and are no longer available to us.