Wood Mill/Factory which dates back to 1860's.
A Living History Museum
Today, Lori and I took Flat Stanley to see a very old woodworking factory just a down the street from where we live. It was first built in 1860's before they had electricity. Before electricity, they used coal fired steam engines and before that they used a water wheel which harnessed the power from the flow of water in a nearby brook. At the Schwamb Mill, they transformed (cut, shaped and finished, painted and polished) wood into furniture, wooden picture frames, even the wooden parts of musical instruments such as pianos, various string instruments and guitars. The machines which were used to create oval picture frames are still working and on display in the museum.
http://www.oldschwambmill.org/main.html
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 **I did not take these 2 picture, I grabbed them off the web. |
The Plaque Reads: Commemorating the inventive genius and practical ability of New England's millwrights and millers, who have operated grist, saw, spice and woodworking mills on this site for three centuries.
Placed by Massachusetts Society Daughters of the American Colonists
June 1, 1974
Three Centuries = 300 Years! That means that there was some sort of manufacturing going on at this location since 1711! (2011 -->1911 --> 1811-->1711)
We Took a Tour:
These are the machines which make oval frames. They use special 'eccentric' lathes.
You can find a detailed explanation of how they work here, click on "How the Lathes Work" in the middle of the page: http://www.oldschwambmill.org/theframes/theframes.html
These are the cutting blades to fashion different shapes for wooden square and rectangular wooden picture frames.
Be sure your dad has a close look at the sign. (Click on the image to enlarge)
The Glue Room -- where they glue the wood frames together
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Lori and I with Flat Stanley at the end of the tour.
Of course after the fun tour of the mill, we had to run more errands. We went to the dry cleaners, the Post Office and the supermarket.
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