Water

Water diverted from Owens Creek into a millpond about a hundred meters upstream powered the sawmill. From the millpond, stored water flowed through the millrace to the headrace at the sawmill, where a series of control gates regulated how much water struck the waterwheel and thus its speed. Spent water returned to Owens Creek through the tailrace. Because large volumes of water were needed, many water-powered sawmills operated only during high stream-flow periods, mainly in the spring months, unless a costly storage dam large enough to supply water throughout the year was built.

Maryland · United States