Pg 330

          The first mill was a curiosity, and was so unique, as well as simple, in its machinery and construction that a brief description of it will not be considered out of place. Its plan originated in the mechanical brain of Aaron Porter, and his hands fashioned and set it in motion. The pioneers of 1836, after erecting their cabins, made preparations for sowing and planting in the Spring of 1837, and during that season many of them raised corn and buckwheat sufficient to supply their families; but, without a mill, the grain was comparatively useless, and knowing and appreciating the mechanical integrity of Mr. Porter, the pioneers prevailed upon him to construct a mill, of some description, to supply their needs. After pondering over the situation and necessities for a time, Mr. Porter went to work. The prairies and forest furnished the material. Going to the prairie, he selected two boulders for the “upper and nether mill stones.” These stones were about ten inches in diameter, the surfaces of which were dressed down to suit the purpose for which they were to be applied. One of those stones was fastened to the floor of his cabin. A hole or eye was drilled through the center of the other one, which was so adjusted as to revolve upon the other from a pivotal center. An upright shaft completed the machinery. One end of this shaft was fixed in the upper side of the upper mill stone, and the other end was fitted, gudgeon fashion, in the ceiling or joist above. The power was derived from this shaft, which was operated by two men, one using his right hand and the other his left one. With their other hands they fed the mill. It was a rude, primitive concern, but it served its purpose, and its construction was looked upon by the people whom it was intended to benefit and accommodate as a great and convenient accomplishment, and was called the “little Savior.” It did not grind very fine, but it was a little ahead of a coffee mill in speed. The meal or flour it turned out was not bolted, for Mr. Porter . . .

Pg 331

. . . did not attach a bolting apparatus. The only refining process to which the productions of Porter’s mill were subjected was a wire sieve, and then it was ready for bread; and many choice buckwheat cakes and many a relishable “Johnny cake” was baked from flour and meal ground at Porter’s “Little Savior” Mills. They were always busy, till the time came when other and better mills were erected in accessible localities. Many and many a bushel of grain was carried to them on the backs of settlers. They generally went to mill in couples, and helped each other to grind their respective “grists.” No “toll” was exacted—no charge made for the use of the mill. It was built for the accommodation of the settlers, and was an accommodation that was highly appreciated. Before it was ready for operation, common tin graters were frequently used to reduce corn to coarse meal. Sometimes a coffee mill was brought into requisition, and sometimes corn was pounded into meal. Men used to spend the evenings from the time suppers were over till bed time in grinding (in a coffee mill), grating or pounding corn into meal for the next morning’s breakfast. It made course but wholesome food, and the fathers, mothers and children of 1837-8 were much stronger, far more active and athletic, and capable of greater physical endurance than are the people of 1878. Pioneer days in Cedar County were days of hardship, often of exposure, but their trials served to develop the true manhood and womanhood of the settlers.

         The next attempt at mill building was made by Messrs. John Ferguson, Charles Dallas and William Coutts, on Rock Creek, on land then belonging to William Coutts, but now owned by William Rickard, and not far from the residence of John Ferguson. This mill was commenced and completed in the Fall of 1837, Mr. Coutts selling his interest about the time the mill was completed. The millhouse was sixteen by sixteen feet, one story high, built of round logs. The projectors and builders did not have time to hew the logs. The people of the neighborhood were out of bread. Porter’s hand mill could not supply the demand, and coffee mills and graters were wearing out. The mill was supplied with one run of stone, which were purchased in Louisa County. There was no machinery to handle them, and when everything was in readiness, the immediate neighbors came together, and with the strong arms and hand-spikes put them in place. In a good stage of water, the Red Oak Mill, as it was called, had a capacity of about two bushels per hour. In the Fall of 1838, and the Winter following, John Safley was the miller. When corn was ripe enough to grind, the mill was kept busy night and day. At one time, says Mr. Safely, there were settlers at the mill awaiting their “turns,” from Muscatine, Johnson and what is now Linn County. During Safley’s millership, a settler brought a “grist” of rather green corn to be ground, and was told by the miller that it was too green to grind, and that it would clog the stones. The man insisted on having it ground at once. His family was out of bread. At last Safley turned the corn into the hopper and started the mill. For a few minutes the meal came out through the spout pretty freely, but the stones soon began to clog, and then the meal came slower and slower. Safley immediately saw that he would be compelled to lift and cleanse the stones. His patience was being put to the test. The settler’s patience was also being tried. His family were at home without bread. At last his patience gave out, and he “d—d such a mill.” This vexed Safley the more, and the vehemence of his nature got the better of his early Scotch religious training, and he “d—d” back. “D—n your green corn; d—n your persistence in persuading me to attempt to grind it; d—n your stupid head, and d---n your impertinence for d—ning the only mill in the country. Now, have you got d—ning enough?” The mill was stopped. The . . .

Pg 332

. . . corn was removed from the hopper, and, with the assistance of neighbors and handspikes, the stones were raised and cleansed and put in readiness for the next “grist.”

         In April, 1838, a terrible freshet occurred in Rock Creek. The water rose thirteen feet in four hours. The dam was carried away, the mill foundations washed out, and the mill building was “skewed” around so that the machinery became all awry, and consequently useless until repairs could be made, which were not undertaken until “after harvest.” Then the settlers volunteered and came together and set matters to right. It was the “last chance” for their winter’s bread. Everything straightened up and put in “ship shape,” the mill was again started, and during that Fall and the following Winter it was kept busy, but during the Spring and Summer of 1840, it was entirely abandoned, in consequence of the almost continued repairs necessary to keep it in running order.

         About the time Mr. Ferguson and his associates commenced building their mill on Rock Creek, Aaron Porter undertook to utilize the water of Crooked Creek, by building a mill on the land now owned by Andrew Wilson. Mr. Porter made stones for this mill from flint rocks found in the neighborhood. He also made the boxing for the larger shafts from the same material, and it is said they answered the purpose admirably.

         These mills were the first attempts at water machinery in the county. They were devoted exclusively to grinding corn and buckwheat. They were not supplied with bolting apparatus, nor did they need any, for the settlers had not began to raise wheat—the first of this cereal, in that immediate neighborhood being sown by Col. Hardman in the Fall of 1837. The only refining process to which either corn meal or buckwheat flour was subjected, was a hand sieve. When the meal or flour passed through that, it was ready for bread or cakes.

         When Ferguson’s Red Oak Mill or Porter’s Crooked Creek Mill got “crooked” and out of order, the settlers sometimes went to mill at Cascade or Canton on the Maquoketa, or to the mill at Mouth of Pine. On several occasions the mill at Cascade was out of order, and the settlers went from there to the mills on Cat Fish Creek, near Dubuque. When they went to Mouth of Pine, and found Nye’s mill out of order, they crossed the Mississippi to find a mill in Illinois. At one time, Prior Scott, one of the first settlers at Pioneer Grove, went to mill at Canton, in Fulton County, Illinois, a distance of eighty miles. The trip occupied three weeks.

         In the early days when mills and markets were few and far between, the settlers, when they began to have a surplus of pork, would take part of a load of grain and part of a load of pork, and start for the nearest market with a mill. Such trips were frequently made to Dubuque, Galena, and even as far as Peoria. One dollar and fifty cents per hundred was the prevailing price for pork. When $2 per hundred could be had, the pioneers thought they were “making money.”

         The coming of the year 1838 signalized a new era in the history of Cedar County. From the time the first settlements were made in 1836, until the crops were harvested in the Fall of 1838, the settlers had been engaged in one continued struggle against want, in fighting the wolf from their cabin doors. Most of the pioneers brought little means to the country with them, and as a consequence they had to depend upon their native tact and strong arms to “make both ends meet,” and it was with difficulty they did even that much. But the crops of 1837 left their ground in good condition for 1838, and “mother earth” yielded handsome returns—enough to support the old settlers—that is, . . .

Pg 333

. . . those who came in 1836 and 1837, and some to spare to those who came in 1838. The worst was over, the “ice was broken,” and the people began to find time for the discussion of political questions. Previous to this time, the pioneers were too busy providing against wants to “talk politics,” and, as a consequence, their friendships were not alienated because of political differences or sectional issues. The time did come, however, when questions arose that divided the people and led to estrangements that required many years to pacify. Of these estrangements and their causes, more in another chapter.