Photo by Joe LananeVolunteers installed the shaft of the newest replica Anderson Mill wheel in December 2012. The Anderson Mill Garden Club is scheduled to host an open house April 28 to showcase the replica historic structure, which took more than six months to recreate.
The Anderson Mill Garden Club plans to unveil its replica mill wheel during an April 28 open house.
The history of the mill wheel dates back to the 1860s when the original Anderson family mill was built. The Anderson Mill Garden Club soon built replica wheels at the nearby Anderson Mill Memorial Museum—first in 1965 and again in 1986 when the original replica fell apart.
The second replica mill wheel was disassembled in July 2011, prompting the Volente-based garden club to again recreate the historic structure. Several volunteers have spent the past year funding and reconstructing the mill wheel, shaft, farmhouse and flume.
Once water pumps are installed, the surrounding pond will also be restored, said Jan Herring, who serves on the Anderson Mill Garden Club open house committee. In the meantime, Herring said the wheel has been rigged to turn just as the original once did.
