Dexter Grist Mill — Attraction in Sandwich

One of the oldest water mill sites existing in the United States today, Dexter’s Grist Mill, has Plymouth Colony Records dating back to 1640 in which Thomas Dexter was allocated 26 acres and 6 acres for his mill. An absentee mill owner, Thomas Dexter lived in Lynn, Massachusetts. In 1646, Thomas Dexter, Jr. was the miller. March 1 1653, there was a town meeting to discuss the reconstruction of the mill due to damage from a broken dam. It was not until June 26, 1654 that a town agreement was reached to rebuild the mill with Thomas Dexter Jr. Thomas Dexter’s son John inherited the mill in 1686. John Dexter sold the mill to Seth Pope Senior in 1700 and moved to Portsmouth, Rhode Island. In 1800 a fulling mill, used for carding wool and treating woolen cloth, was constructed just east of the gristmill on the dam. It was torn down in 1830. In 1856 a new mill building replaced the old woolen mill and manufactured marble stone products. An iron turbine replaced the wooden waterwheel in Dexter’s Mill in 1856.

The second mill building saw many types of industries from 1859 through 1879 such as a wheelwrights shop, clay pounder to produce glass, jewelry box production and a card and tag company.

The gristmill last operated in 1881 when Captain Laban Crocker was miller. The two mill buildings were joined and operated as the Sandwich Card and Tage Company into the early 1900’s.

Mrs. Alice Harvey converted the mills into a teahouse in 1920 and functioned as such during the summers, into the 1950’s.

The town of Sandwich bought the mill complex for $6,300 as part of an effort to preserve the historic district. In 1961 Dexter’s Mill was restored with authentic wooden parts and an undershot wooden waterwheel. The millstones were imported from France. Opened in 1962, Dexter’s Mill is available to the public.

The mill and mill grounds are well preserved. Dexter’s Mill sits on the dam, which creates a beautiful, large millpond. The meandering millrace is lined in cut stone. The foundation of the three-story building is laid in cut stone with an undershot wooden waterwheel on the east side. The mill building is sided with natural shake. All of these elements make the area most...

I visited Dexter Grist Mill during a trip to Cape Cod. This building is owned and maintained by the town just like Hoxie House, so the tour was of similarly high quality. Like most historic buildings, the mill is not accessible for those using a wheelchair, and the narrow steps may be difficult to navigate for those with limited mobility, but a truncated video tour is available online. The level of energy on this tour greatly depends on your tour guide. My group was paired with an enthusiastic young guide, while the group before us received a calm older guide; the energy levels happened to match those in both groups. This is stop is worth the visit for anyone interested in industrial history and architecture and would be a fun tour for anyone wanting to learn more about colonial life...

This explanation/demonstration us the best I've ever seen, and I've seen these things in several states! It covered the mechanical and practical aspects of a grist mill, and how it functions, as well as how the water actually does run it. Clear concise, interesting, and made easy to understand! Our guide even said that engineers are most interested, and anxious to crawl in there and figure it out, which, of course, is not allowed, for their own protection(trust me, I'm married to one for years, and they just discount their own need for safety!). He really enjoyed the talks, too! You can even buy some of the ground corn,...