Garrison-Webb Grist Mill EarthCache
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The coordinates take you to the site of where the representation of the Garrison-Webb Grist Mill has been built. Do not park at the nearby intersection of Springfield Parkway and Steele St. Thank you for your cooperation. Park at: Adventure Center, 835 Springfield Parkway or Dairy Barn, 250 Dairy Barn Ln .
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  This cache is part of the "York County History Series". The York County Geocaching Organization and the Rock Hill/York County Convention & Visitor Bureau welcomes you to participate. Get your passport from either of the above websites then complete the challenge by finding 12 of the 16 caches listed and answering the questions on your passport. All answers will be short answers found at the cache locations. You can then turn in the passport at the York County Visitor Center to receive the limited edition York County History Series geocoin! These coins are only available while supplies last. After that, the caches will remain but the coins will be gone!
NOTE: You only need to answer the question for the passport. You can log the cache as a find without answering the question.
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GARRISON-WEBB GRIST MILL
When I first considered doing an Earthcache in the Anne Close Springs Greenway, I was challenged on how I could fulfill the requirement where it had to present a lesson on geological features. Upon visiting the site and doing research, I found that the geological features of the area played a very important part in the history of the area. Definition of Geology: Geology is the study of the Earth, the materials of which it is made, the structure of those materials, and the processes acting upon them. It includes the study of organisms that have inhabited our planet. An important part of geology is the study of how Earth’s materials, structures, processes and organisms have changed over time. Geologists study earth materials: People use earth materials every day. They use oil that is produced from wells, metals that are produced from mines, and water that has been drawn from streams or from underground. Geologists conduct studies that locate rocks that contain important metals, plan the mines that produce them and the methods used to remove the metals from the rocks. They do similar work to locate and produce oil, natural gas and ground water. Let me start with a paragraph from the new Greenway brochure that gives some background on "Garrison-Webb Grist Mill" Webb’s Grist Mill Webb’s Mill was among the first in the area. Built c. 1720, it served European settlers and their descendants for over 100 years, and is commemorated in the name of “Fort Mill”, originally known as Little York. To be successful, a mill needed water for power and accessibility for customers. As a result, the mill site is on Steele Creek near Steele Road, once a spur on the Nation Ford Road. A historical mill representation is planned to assist in interpreting the historical and engineering significance of the site. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
REPRESENTATION OF GARRISON-WEBB GRIST MILL
Since the wagon road crossed at Nation’s Ford, it was an area where commerce became concentrated. Grain was harvested and a means to grind and ship out the flour was needed. The geological features of the area were right to build a grist mill and have the power to make it run. As with other areas with grist mills, small towns sprung up as a result the trade generated from these mills. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPECIFIC GEOLOGICAL FEATURES
1. Steele Creek. It goes without saying that this plentiful source of water is the most important feature. 2. If you walk the area or study it on a topographic map, you will notice that the river makes a wide loop from the point where the water enters the head race all the way around to the back of the mill. If you follow the river it is a distance of about .50 mi. The river makes about a 15’ drop, plus the height of the dam, for this distance, giving the water plenty of flow. This is an ideal spot to efficiently build a grist mill. Today, the water for the replica mill is provided by a pump at the dam site and piped down the headrace to the water wheel. Originally, water spilled from the dam, down the headrace and powered the mill. The headrace was most likely dug by hand in very rocky conditions as shown in the photo below.
HEAD RACE
3. The actual grinding stones were made from granite, which is geologically native to this part of the country. Granite is an igneous rock that is formed by intense heat. In fact, South Carolina is the top producer of granite in this country. The South Carolina state stone is blue granite. Grist mill stones are made from pink granite, grey granite, blue granite and others.
GRANITE MILLSTONE
4. Additionally, the Catawba River and specifically Nation’s Ford Crossing provided accessibility for the customers of the mill. In summary, the layout of the Garrison Webb Gristmill's location was because it was in a geological area, that attracted customers, located where a plentiful water supply could be harnessed to power the mill as well as materials to build the mill. The soil in the farm land in the area was also ideal to grow the crops to be milled. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 2300 acre Ann Springs Close Greenway was dedicated in 1995 by the children of Anne Springs Close as a tribute to their mother and her commitment to recreation and the environment. The purpose is to provide low impact recreation activities while maintaining a natural habitat for wildlife, protecting the Steele Creek watershed and preserving several sites of historical interest. Owned and operated under the direction of Leroy Springs & Co., Inc., the Greenway receives no tax dollars to build, maintain and operate the trails and facilities. It is funded in part by donations. More information about Anne Springs Close Greenway at www.ascgreenway.org. To see the grist mill in operation, contact the Greenway office for events and times. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LOGGING REQUIREMENTS
The following requirements and questions must be completed to receive credit for this Earthcache. To find the answers, you must explore the entire site and read all the signs. Email me the answers to receive credit for this Earthcache.
1. Name the most important geological feature needed to build and run a grist mill?
2. What specific kinds of grain did Webb Mill grind and what was made from this product that this area is famous for?
3. How many inches of water was needed to run the waterwheel?
4. What affect did a grist mill generally have on an area?
5. What igneous rock were the grinding stones made from?
6. Submit a photo of you near the mill stone at GZ showing your GPS’r.
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Dan Huntley writes on life in upstate South Carolina for The Charlotte Observer's Neighbors of York & Lancaster. Before the Industrial Revolution, power essentially came from humans, draft animals or water. Water-powered grist mills were first used in ancient Greece and by the year 1300, England had 17,000 grist mills. Louise Pettus, a retired Winthrop University history professor, says grist mills played a critical role in the early development of York, Lancaster and Chester counties – by 1832 the three-county area had 32 grist mills. “The people who built these grist mills were the region's first industrialists; they represented the wealth of that time,” Pettus said. “The Garrison-Webb Mill was one of the first in this region and is how the town of Fort Mill came to be.” She said the real significance of the grist mills was that they were the economic incubators of their time. Where grist mills were built, roads and bridges followed, along with saw mills, taverns and stores. “The grist mills would become social centers as well, to create the nucleus of a town in the backcountry,” said Pettus, whose great-great-grandfather, Allen Morrow, operated a grist mill on Six Mile Creek in Lancaster County.
June 2010 I received the following email from Vereen Brown with some interesting information about the efforts and people that made the "representation" of the Garrison-Webb Grist Mill a reality. It really is a representation, and not a replica, as described originally. Thank you Vereen for this information. Happy Memorial Day apoolman! My name is Vereen Brown. I am a Fort Mill native and a teacher at FMES. I was THRILLED to see your geocache about Webb's Mill. My Daddy, Billy Barron, was instrumental in having the representation built. A lot of planning and hard work went into the mill. MANY people were involved, but here are a few: Billy Barron: spearheaded the efforts Anne Close Will Close Dottie Metzler is the Environmental Educator the Greenway. She designed the exhibits. Bill Clarke was the builder. Daddy was SO excited to hear people say that they found the mill by geocaching. So, he asked me about it. I pulled up your history to read. He wants me to ask you to change the wording of "replica" to "Representation." Because there are no drawings nor photos of the mill, this has to be a REPRESENTATION. He says, "I don't want to mislead anyone." Daddy had put so much into this. He is happy that you are sending people to the mill. He just wants the wording changed. Could you do that? He...and Dottie...have always called it a representation. Again, THANK YOU for your historical caches. Keep it up! Vereen Brown Congratulations to MSwahoo & the Cache Hound Posse for first to find honors.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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