A bit of background about Belgrade's mills.

Belgrade Mills

The spool factory made spools for wool and thread. You will never believe this: the spool factory made more than 1,584,000 spools in a month!

Grist mills were mills that ground up wheat, corn and other grains to make flour for bread, cereal and oats.

Apples, corn and potatoes were in high demand and had to be shipped to other countries. The barrels they were shipped in had to be made by the mills. They were packed in wood chips from the excelsior mill.

Some mills were water powered. There was a water wheel that connected to the house with a lot of gears. Each gear turned another gear which made the mill operate.

The mills were a way of living that helped the people of Belgrade make money to support their families.&nbsp;In fact they made the town very wealthy. Later it became popular because of the lakes, hotels, and youth camps. We are connected to the past because if those businesses hadn't helped build the town we might not be here.

     It may be hard to believe, but at one time mills were very important in Belgrade, Maine. There were many different types of mills. There were mills that made apple barrels and other shipping containers and spools. Also, there was grist mills, sawmills and excelsior mills.