Before cars, supermarkets, and modern manufacturing methods, settlers in the Kentucky wilderness worked hard to provide life’s basic necessities, and one of the most important mechanical devices that eased daily labor was the mill. Before steam engines and electricity, mills harnessed the natural power of moving water, and although they were built for many purposes, the most common were grist mills, which ground grain for bread and animal feed. Grain milling is one of mankind’s oldest industries, and hundreds of mills once stood along streams and rivers throughout Kentucky, though most are now gone. The McHargue Mill on the Little Laurel River was constructed by the WPA program in 1938-39, is typical of a pioneer Kentucky mill, and contains parts of a mill once operated by the McHargue family on Robinson Creek, 10 miles south of here. It also includes a set of millstones brought into Kentucky over the Wilderness Road in 1805.