Inside the Mill -- The Grindstone

The history of 'Just Right' flour began with the purchase of property on Chew Avenue in St. Michaels, Maryland, by Jennings B. Quillen from Edgar T. Warner on April 23, 1920.

Quillen employed Emerson T. Langrell as his first flour miller. Langrell stayed with the operation until his death in 1943.

The huge grindstone (you can see a little of the white stone under the hopper) was fed the wheat via long wooden shafts which run throughout the building. As it turned and ground the wheat into flour the grindstone would wear down through constant abrasion, so a huge set of tong-like bars on a heavy pivot, normally kept against the wall to the left, would swing a new replacement stone over the grinding area. Even with this pivot, it must have been a chore moving the stones around.