Shannon Mill

One of the nice touches outside the new Steve Shannon Tire Store, Mill Street, is the millstone used as decoration at the front of the property along route 487. The millstone had been used to open and close head gates of the Shannon Mill and dates from 1850. The stone was in continuous usage from that date through 1943, and is a companion stone to one in Esther Vincent's front yard.

Millstones were used to grind grist, and they were used in pairs, both of which had to be furrowed or grooved. The upper stone was called the "runner" with furrows cut on the bottom. The bottom stone was the "bed stone" and had patterns cut on the top. Stones varied in size from four to six feet in diameter and weighed as much as a ton.

The patterns of furrows varied: early mill stones had curved grooves. Later mill stones had a variety of straight line furrows. The grooves were actually channels through which air could pass and carry off heat generated by friction during the grinding. They also served as a path for ground flour or meal to escape.

The distance between the two stones could be adjusted slightly for each type of grain—-corn, rye, wheat, buckwheat—-and they had to be perfectly balanced and could not touch each other. Stones improperly balanced could ruin the product, damage the stones, and the friction could even cause a fire--a constant fear among millers. Although the grooves on the stones rip and tear the outer husk of the grain, it is the flat areas that actually ground the husks and kernels into flour.

A good miller kept his millstones sharp because dull stones ground coarse flour! Coarse flour was called "cakey" and tended to ferment.

Early millstones were quarried locally. In later years, stones were often shipped a considerable distance. French buhr stones were considered the best—-and they were expensive! (At one time, the Benton Roller Mills was a buhr process flour mill.) Other stones were shipped from domestic quarries: granite of Rhode Island, sandstone of western New York and southeastern Pennsylvania. The better the stones the less they had to be trimmed to keep them sharp!

The Shannon mill was constructed in 1850 by William Hulme, later acquired by Thomas Edwards. Edwards operated the mill until 1906 when Clark Wesley Shannon purchased the property. C. W. Shannon conducted the enterprise steadily until 1943. It ceased operations in 1943 upon the death of Mr. Shannon, 93 years after it commenced operations.

Esther Vincent fondly remembers her grandfather ice skating on the mill race from his house, now the VFW hall, to the house where she grew up which until recently was the Red Poppy Bed and Breakfast.

On September 19, 1949, the Shannon Mill was acquired as a home for both the Ft. Ricketts Post, No. 8317, Benton Veterans of Foreign Wars, and its Auxiliary. An old mill race had long reached from the dam spanning Fishingcreek, but by this time the dam and the mill race were in disrepair.

Fishermen recognized the area as a sports paradise and in July of 1964 a meeting at the VFW resulted in John King, William Schuster and Wayne Schuyler formed a committee to come up with funding to repair the old Shannon dam. The years had washed the dam extensively and what was once a five-foot breast dwindled to little more than two feet with some areas torn completely away. Local businessmen, VFW members (who were responsible for raising about 15% of the money themselves) and local residents banded together raising money, preparing plans and specifications and getting bids. A great deal of money was raised by The Berwick Enterprise, The Morning Press and the Bloomsburg Water Company. With minimum intervention from people who said that it could not be done, the bids came in and the contract was awarded in September, 1964, and the dam was rebuilt by October of that year by the J. Paul Laubach Construction Company and the debt completely repaid during the following year. And nary a dime came from the Federal or State government.

The rebuilt dam was dedicated to Robert K. Brewington, editor and publisher of the Argus, in October, 1964,( in a service attended by the deceased Benton publisher's three brothers and sister, John Brewington, Howard Brewington, Mrs. Joseph Brewington Sutliff, and Woodrew Brewington.) The ponded water resulted in several new springs opening up and the water was as deep as six feet in places. The dam has survived both hurricane Eloise and Agnes.

The water was good enough that the Fishing Creek Sportsmen's Club built a fish hatchery in the mill race coming from the dam. That hatchery provides for thousands of trout each year that are available for release in area streams, and is still in operation today. Property values rose as a result of the action. Subsequently the Mill Race Golf Course was built in 1974/75 and utilized the beauty associated with the mill race. Originally named "the Mill Creek" golf course, the Mill Race Golf Course got its name from this body of water.

The Shannon Mill was located behind the VFW hall, off route 487. C. W. Shannon lived in the house that is now the VFW. The mill was adjacent to the hatchery.

The December 31, 1925, issue of the Benton Argus showed the mill as doing business at that time as the Empire Roller Mills, C. W. Shannon, Proprietor. A major emphasis at this time seemed to be on chicken feed. Their large year-end advertisement lead off with "Lay or Bust: Dry Mash--$3.40 per cwt." It seemed like a safe bet to buy the product. The advertisements read "Money back if it fails to please both you and the hens."