Freeman's Mill, also known as Alcovy Road Grist Mill or Swann's Mill, is a historic restored

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

located located on the east side of the Alcovy River in Dacula, Georgia.

History

The mill was constructed between 1868 and 1879 by John Griffin and Levi J. Loveless. Subsequent owners included W. Scott Freeman, his son Winfield, and Newt Pharr. The mill operated into the 1980s, making it one of the last operating gristmills in the county. In the 1990s, the mill was purchased by Gwinnett County and was restored in 2009. The mill was listed on the

U.S. National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of sites, buildings, structures, districts, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1998. Originally, a miller's house was located just east of the mill but was destroyed by fire in the 1990s. The

millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, used for triturating, crushing or, more specifically, grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a s ...

s were significant features, originally 48 inches in diameter, now 36 inches and weighing approximately 1,000 pounds each. The original wooden waterwheel was replaced with a historic breaststroke-type wheel, 20 feet high and 3 feet wide, running "backwards" with an 18-foot gear. The wooden dam was replaced circa 1910 with a shaped stone dam. A stone wall and series of gates and channels were added in 1946 to improve water control.https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/cc6a599f-fae1-4a4e-bbef-7a3c375ec18e The site includes the mill and the area around it, encompassing the mill, its dam, and a portion of the Alcovy River.

Architecture

The mill is a two-and-one-half story wood-framed structure with major floor beams and some vertical corner posts made of large hand-hewn timbers. The building is constructed with rough-hewn timber, and major structural members are mortised and tenoned together, while others are nailed with square-cut nails. The building frame is of hand-hewn timbers in a

mortise-and-tenon A mortise and tenon (occasionally mortice and tenon) is a joint that connects two pieces of wood or other material. Woodworkers around the world have used it for thousands of years to join pieces of wood, mainly when the adjoining pieces connect ...

construction joined by wooden pegs. The mill has a square shape with a lean-to addition (1955) on the southwest end; half of the lean-to section is two stories high, while the other portion is one story. The mill rests on a stone and concrete foundation, with weatherboard exterior and a roof replaced in 1947. The

mill race A mill race, millrace or millrun, mill lade (Scotland) or mill leat (Southwest England) is the current of water that turns a water wheel, or the channel ( sluice) conducting water to or from a water wheel. Compared with the broad waters of a m ...

's larger section was enhanced with a stone wall and spillway features, including a cement overflow area added in the late 1940s. Original

Dutch door A Dutch door (American English), stable door (British English), or half door (Hiberno-English) is a door divided in such a fashion that the bottom half (the hatch) may remain shut while the top half opens. They were known in early New Englan ...

s, double-hung windows on the first floor, and fixed nine-light windows on the second floor are notable features. The interior equipment, except for the wheat stones, remains intact, and the mill could resume operation with minimal effort.

Park

Soon after the restoration of the mill, a park was built surrounding it. Freeman's Mill Park has a playground, 0.5-mile paved multi-purpose trail, and restrooms. The park is managed by Gwinnett County Parks.

References

{{Reflist Grinding mills in Georgia (U.S. state) Grinding mills on the National Register of Historic Places Agricultural buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Wooden buildings and structures in the United States Dams on the National Register of Historic Places Parks in Georgia (U.S. state)