MetroParks to replace Lanterman's water wheel


By JORDYN GRZELEWSKI

jgrzelewski@vindy.com

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.”

One complication arose when the wheel shifted due to deterioration of its wooden shaft. It’s currently being held in place thanks to a temporary repair, and continues to operate.

In addition to replacement of the wheel itself, the project includes replacement of several supporting features, such as the frame surrounding the wheel, the gates through which creek water pours, and the penstock, a channel over which incoming water travels to get to the wheel.

Faniro Architects of Youngstown has been commissioned by the park to draw up the project designs; design and engineering for the project will take place this year.

Next year, park planners expect to go out to bid for a contractor. The work likely will be drawn out for several months, Avery said, due to the intricacies of the work.

The wheel must first be constructed off site, then taken apart and put back together in the confined space that holds the structure.

A preliminary estimate for the total of the project is between $80,000 and $100,000. A large portion of the project cost will be covered by the $65,000 contributed by the group that sold a “Recipes of Youngstown” cookbook to raise proceeds for restoration of the wheel, Avery said.

The remaining cost will come out of the MetroParks’ 2017 budget.

The project is slated to be complete sometime next winter.