Final answer:
The mill had three different functions throughout its history: grain milling, wool spinning and cloth weaving, and industrial production.
Step-by-step explanation:
The mill had three different functions throughout its history:
- Grain milling: In the early years, women would mill grains using mortars and pestles. As agricultural production increased, larger stone tools were used. Milling grains required long hours of kneeling and bending over the millstones.
- Wool spinning and cloth weaving: Women at home would spin wool sheared from domesticated sheep into thread and then weave it into cloth.
- Industrial production: In the first half of the 19th century, mills became mechanized and centralized. Some of the crafts that were mechanized included shoe making, leather tanning, papermaking, hat making, clock making, gun making, and flour milling. The inventions of Oliver Evans led to the automation and centralization of flour milling, making the process more efficient.