Lanterman's Mill waterwheel to be replaced again

YOUNGSTOWN

The wheel that powers Lanterman’s Mill will keep on turning.

Mill Creek MetroParks planners are in the beginning stages of a project that will replace the 16-year-old water wheel that powers the equipment used to grind corn, wheat and buckwheat at one of the park’s most iconic sites.

“It’s got to be one of the oldest pieces of history in the Valley,” Steve Avery, MetroParks planning & operations director, said of the mill. “To not want to lose that history is critical for ourselves and future generations.”

Lanterman’s Mill was built in the 1840s and restored in the 1980s.

Today, it remains a fully functioning gristmill. Crucial to its operations is its spinning water wheel, which generates the power needed to turn the stones that are used in the grinding process. The wheel is spun by the weight of water that pours into it from the creek.

The wheel has been replaced twice in the last 30 years, most recently in 2000, and now has reached the end of its useful life, Avery said.

“The 1985 wheel lasted 15 years, then we replaced it with this one,” he said. “It’s been 16 years, and sure enough, last year and the year before we had some complications. ... So it’s time.”

Read more about the project in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.co/