Download or read book Gristmills of Central Texas written by Charlene Ochsner Carson and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2017-06-26 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gristmills were once commonplace in Texas. There was hardly a river, a creek, or a stream without one. The purpose of the gristmill was to grind wheat into flour and corn into meal. Prior to the water-powered gristmill, grinding was a tedious, time-consuming task that was usually performed by hand using some type of mortar and pestle. When a gristmill began operating in an area, settlers from near and far traveled to the mill to have their grain ground. The gathering of these settlers and farmers at the mill was the beginning of many settlements that grew into the Texas towns of today. Many of these picturesque settings have become major tourist destinations.