Inside Brock's Mill, Trenton NC

   In ourlast post, we took you on a quick paddle in Brock Mill Pond, located just inside Trenton, NC. Today we take you inside the current mill house on the property.

   Brock's Mill Pond goes way back and has historically been used by locals as a gristmill, a sawmill, and even as an electricity generator in the early 1900s. It's had a lot of names too - Hatch's Mill, McDaniel's Mill, and now Brock's Mill. The building (pictured above) that currently sits on the property was built in the 1940s.
   To romanticize about this time is to look back to the 1800s when the mill was used to produce cornmeal and grits. These were very important to the local diet of the day. Mr. Brock, however, was a man looking to the future. It was a gristmill when he bought the place back in 1899. By 1917, he installed a turbine generator to provide electricity to the residents of Trenton. Everyone's favorite story of this time is how every night at 10 pm the electricity in the town would blink two times, letting everyone know that the power would be shut off in 15 minutes.

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   There's a catch to going inside the mill house on the property - it's NOT regularly open to the public. The property is though, the paddling is great, and you're free to explore the outside (and even peek in the windows) of the mill house. We were lucky enough to tour the inside during  Jones County's annual Heritage Festival. Restoration of the property by the Friends of Brock's Mill is ongoing. If you're close to the area, check out the upcoming Brock's Mill Music Jamboree this September. Also, be sure to check out our last post as we paddle Brock Mill Pond and beyond!

​   ~Paul & Amber    ETC