Existing comment:
Haxall Millrace
The first gristmill in Richmond was built on rocks in the river and approached by planks laid from one rock to another.
In the 19th century, fleets of schooners and brigs carried Richmond's flour to Brazil and around Cape Horn to San Francisco and Australia.
From Colonial times, the waterpower of the James was used to grind wheat into flour. This became even more effective when millraces, like the Haxall canal, were dug to divert water from the river for this purpose. Eventually, Richmond became one of the largest flour exporters in the world. |