Title
Delta Mills Saw Mill
Subject
Delta Mills Saw Mill
Description
The Saw Mill was located on the south bank of the Grand River just east of what is now Webster Road.
"[Erastus Ingersoll,] Having established himself at his new home on Grand River, the first work was to erect a dam preparatory to building a saw-mill. Formidable as was this undertaking, in the midst of a great wilderness, it was accomplished, a mill was built, and one board duly sawed on the last day of December, 1836. Not that the mill was fully completed at this time. 'Gigging back,' as it was termed, had still to be performed by the use of crowbars and handspikes. But notwithstanding this triumphant feat, he had yet to learn that in hoppling the proud current of Grand River he had a more formidable task than was at first anticipated. . . the succeeding spring freshet swept away the frail dam, undermined the mill, and thus greatly augmented the labor of making reparation of this disparagin loss." - pg. 451, History of Ingham and Eaton Counties
“You will remember how Earastus Ingersoll toiled in Delta to dam Grand River to gain the power for a mill. What a memorable event it was when they sawed the first board; the slow and painful process of gigging back the logs with crow-bars and hand-spikes; how eagerly Genet Brown took five slabs and carried them for miles into the woods to help roof his shanty; how the next spring-freshet swept away the dam and undermined the mill.” – pg. 419, History of Ingham and Eaton Counties
"[Erastus Ingersoll,] Having established himself at his new home on Grand River, the first work was to erect a dam preparatory to building a saw-mill. Formidable as was this undertaking, in the midst of a great wilderness, it was accomplished, a mill was built, and one board duly sawed on the last day of December, 1836. Not that the mill was fully completed at this time. 'Gigging back,' as it was termed, had still to be performed by the use of crowbars and handspikes. But notwithstanding this triumphant feat, he had yet to learn that in hoppling the proud current of Grand River he had a more formidable task than was at first anticipated. . . the succeeding spring freshet swept away the frail dam, undermined the mill, and thus greatly augmented the labor of making reparation of this disparagin loss." - pg. 451, History of Ingham and Eaton Counties
“You will remember how Earastus Ingersoll toiled in Delta to dam Grand River to gain the power for a mill. What a memorable event it was when they sawed the first board; the slow and painful process of gigging back the logs with crow-bars and hand-spikes; how eagerly Genet Brown took five slabs and carried them for miles into the woods to help roof his shanty; how the next spring-freshet swept away the dam and undermined the mill.” – pg. 419, History of Ingham and Eaton Counties
Date
July 26, 1899