Watermill

water power · machines · history

Water does the work. Instead of people pushing and pulling, a watermill lets flowing rivers and streams turn a big wheel that powers the whole machine. It's like nature's way of giving factories free energy.

Grinding grain fast. Watermills called gristmills can crush wheat and other grains into flour much faster than doing it by hand. Before electricity, almost every town had a watermill because ground flour was essential for bread.

Cutting and shaping. Different kinds of watermills could saw wood into boards, pound metal into tools, and weave cloth. The same water power could do completely different jobs depending on what machines were attached to the wheel.

Simple but brilliant. A watermill works by putting a wheel in moving water so the current pushes it around. As the wheel spins, it turns gears and shafts that make hammers strike, blades spin, or grinding stones rotate.

Built where water flows. People chose special spots near rivers and streams where the water moved quickly and powerfully. Sometimes they built dams or channels to control the water and make it push the wheel even harder.