Metamora’s new waterwheel will be operating in a couple of weeks
June 21, 2023 at 4:28 p.m.
It was an exciting morning on June 8 in Metamora as a crane installed a new waterwheel at the Whitewater Canal State Historic Site next to the historic grist mill. The wheel has been under construction for a year. It is 14ft in diameter, weighs 4,000 lbs, has 36 paddles, and is made of Cypress.
The site's original waterwheel was added around 1972, allowing tourists to see a spinning waterwheel simulating the type that would have been used along canals to power some mills. A waterwheel never powered the Metamora Grist Mill, but this wheel shows how technology may have looked and opens the conversation on canal power and technology. Unfortunately, the waterwheel has been out of operation for several years. But now, in just a few weeks, visitors will be able to see the wheel operating once again.
“We can't give an exact date, but we're expecting it up and running in the next couple of weeks," said WCSTHS manager Joey Smith. "We still need to dredge and get water to it.
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It was an exciting morning on June 8 in Metamora as a crane installed a new waterwheel at the Whitewater Canal State Historic Site next to the historic grist mill. The wheel has been under construction for a year. It is 14ft in diameter, weighs 4,000 lbs, has 36 paddles, and is made of Cypress.
The site's original waterwheel was added around 1972, allowing tourists to see a spinning waterwheel simulating the type that would have been used along canals to power some mills. A waterwheel never powered the Metamora Grist Mill, but this wheel shows how technology may have looked and opens the conversation on canal power and technology. Unfortunately, the waterwheel has been out of operation for several years. But now, in just a few weeks, visitors will be able to see the wheel operating once again.
“We can't give an exact date, but we're expecting it up and running in the next couple of weeks," said WCSTHS manager Joey Smith. "We still need to dredge and get water to it.