LANTERMAN`S MILL TOUR PREVISIT MATERIAL This program

LANTERMAN’S MILL TOUR PREVISIT MATERIAL
This program introduces children to a 19th century business in the Mahoning Valley- Lanterman’s Mill. They
will explore the importance of the mill to the local community and the way the mill operates. The activities in
this packet will help prepare your class for the tour, making it a more meaningful program. Please complete as
many as possible prior to the tour.
VOCABULARY:
Bedstone – bottom millstone.
Bolter – machine used to sift flour.
Bullgear – largest gear in the mill.
Cereal – grass that produces an edible grain (e.g. corn, wheat, rice).
Damsel – part which agitates shoe to release grain.
Driveshaft – main shaft that transfers energy from the bull gear to other parts of mill.
Energy – usable power
Gear – a wheel with cogs (teeth) around its edge that meshes with the cogs of another wheel. Gears
transfer power from one part of a machine to another.
Gristmill – a building where grain is ground into flour.
Grain – the hard seeds of a cereal plant.
Headgate – a large vertical board on the millrace that is used to control the flow of water to the
waterwheel.
Millrace – a channel that brings water to a waterwheel in a mill.
Millstone – round stone, made of granite, used for grinding grain.
Hopper – the container that funnels grain to the millstones.
Runner – the top millstone.
Shoe – part which controls the feed of grain to the millstones.
Sluiceway – channel that directs water supply into the mill.
Spindle – the rod attached to a gear at one end and the top millstone at the other. It turns the
millstone.
Waterwheel – a wheel equipped with buckets so that it may be turned by flowing water.
ACTIVITIES:
Lanterman’s Mill
Make copies of the picture of Lanterman’s Mill and allow the children to color the picture. Lanterman’s Mill was
the third mill that was built on this site. Completed in the 1840s by German Lanterman the mill provided an
easier and faster way for the local settlers to have their grain ground for food products. You might like to
discuss with the children reasons for the location of the mill. It is located near the creek so that the energy
created by the water could be used to grind the grain. Also, this would be a good time to discuss what life may
have been like at the time the mill was built.
Talk about Grasses and Grains
Use this activity to help teach your students that the seeds of some grasses are important grains that we eat.
At Lanterman’s Mill we grind corn, wheat, and buckwheat.
Energy
Use this activity to help introduce the concepts of simple machines and energy. It provides instructions for
inexpensive and easy to make waterwheels. Making and running their own waterwheels helps children
understand the connection between the moving water and energy.
Word Search
Use the attached word search to introduce children to terms that may be used in the Mill program.
After Your Visit
Lastly, during your visit to Lanterman’s Mill you may want to purchase a 2lb. bag of ground cornmeal. We
have included on the postvisit information a recipe for cornbread that you may wish to make with the children.