Meytre Grist Mill, at the foot of McGalliard Falls near Valdese, North Carolina
Last Thursday my friend Andrew took me to see the Meytre Grist Mill, located near Valdese, North Carolina. The mill was built in 1906 by Fred Meytre, who operated it until 1941. It was restored and made part of a park in 1982 by the city of Valdese.
Water to power the mill was carried from McGalliard Creek above the falls by a sluice and directed to the undershot wheel, where the power was apparently transferred to the millstones by shafts, although it's had to tell, because most of the machinery is missing.
The town of Valdese has an interesting history. It was settled in the 1890s by a Christian sect called the Waldensians. Founded in France in the 1180s by a wealthy merchant named Peter Waldo, who sold all his possessions and began to preach the gospel, the Waldensians are considered by some to be the first Evangelicals.
Under rigorous persecution by the Catholic Church, they moved to Italy, where they continued to face persecution for their faith. Ultimately, many of them immigrated to America and founded the town of Valdese.
In 2015 Pope Francis went to a Waldensian church in Turin to officially ask forgiveness for the centuries of persecution by the Catholic Church.
The photographs were made with a Fuji X-T20 mirrorless digital camera and a Fujicron 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OISII lens.
Photographs and text copyright 2022, David B.Jenkins.
I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.
Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone
My book, Backroads and Byways of Georgia, is now out of print, although copies are apparently still available from Amazon, and possibly other sources. The second edition is now in the editing stage and is scheduled to be released in December.
I like photographing old grist mills, but I have yet to see one still operating. I think it’s interesting that it was in 2015 that the Pope asked the Waldensian for forgiveness for the centuries of persecution by the Catholic Church. Still, it wasn’t until 2022 that he visited Canada to apologise to First Nations people for the centuries of misdeeds by the same Catholic Church.
ReplyDeleteDave, nice shots of the grist mill! Great history of the town. I was stationed at Ft. Bragg for three years and spent a lot of time at Grandfather Mountain, and Blue Ridge Pkwy.
ReplyDeleteIts about time to explore again after nearly forty years
There is quite a number of mills still operating in Georgia, Anonymous, even though most are on a limited basis or at special times. However, to me the queen of mills has always been the Hamer Mill at Spring Mill State Park near Mitchell, IN. But maybe that's because I grew up nearby and visited the park frequently. It is still very much in operation..
ReplyDeleteThanks, Greg. Western North Carolina is a very interesting place. I'd like to do a book about it, but probably won't. Life gets in the way and I already have too many projects to finish.
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