Wolcott Mill
/The industrial history of the Detroit metro area goes beyond just automobiles. A few weeks ago I was driving past this mill and decided to stop and photograph it. It appears to be going through a renovation. Below is the historical Marker:
Wolcott Mill is among the oldest mills in Michigan. Built in the mid 1840s by the Arad Freeman family, early Macomb County settlers. it passed through several owners before Frederick Wolcott purchased it in 1878. The Wolcott family upgraded the business as technology changed. in 1881 the breastshot waterwheel was replaced by a turbine. The millstones where changed to more efficient metal rollers in 1890, and again improved in 1917. Waterpower was used until the mill closed, but it was supplemented by electric power in the 1920s. Declining business caused the Wolcott family to sell the mill in 1967. The Huron-Clinton Metroparks acquired the mill in 1879 for use as an historic interpretive site.
I am thinking of making another trip to this mill when the fall color is stronger. There are other vantage points that I I would like to try.
