Greenfield Village Open-Air Museum

Built on a stone foundation, the Spofford Saw Mill was built in Georgetown, Massachusetts in the late 1600's by John (or possibly son Abner - or both) Spofford. Lumber from this mill was used to make houses, barns, shops, and possibly ships. As with the Tripp Mill (located elsewhere in Greenfield Village), this, too, is an "up-and-down" saw mill, and is one of the earliest water-run saw mills still in existence. The vertical blade flashes up and down while suspended between the two floors of the building, hence, the name "up and down" saw mill. Saw mills were one of the first mills built in local communities, for they supplied the lumber to build all other establishments as well as so many of the household goods and furniture. This mill remained in the Spofford family until the mid-1800's, continuing to serve the community by its new owners until 1925. From what I understand, the Spofford Mill is not all original. In fact, the majority of it was constr...

Early settlers in Michigan needed homes, barns, and shops. As farmers cleared the forests for more farm land, the trees provided a plentiful supply of wood. Sawmills were among the first mills established in towns and farming communities, and it was at these sawmills that the wood was cut into lumber to build the homes, barns, and shops. Sawmills were not only important to the setting in Greenfield Village, but they were also used extensively by architect Ed Cutler's crew to provide lumber for numerous construction and re-erecting projects. The 1855 Tripp Sawmill was originally from Franklin Center (now Tipton), Michigan, near Tecumseh in Lenauwee County and built by British immigrant Henry Tripp. (For years, Henry Tripp's son, J.D., was listed as the original builder, but recent information proves this to be false.) The sawmill featured an up and down saw similar to the one Henry Ford operated in his youth. Powered by a steam engine on the bottom floor, the vertical b...