Millstones Confirm Site of Early Prattville Mill

The discovery earlier this year of a giant millstone, long buried along an Autauga County creek bed, was a historical moment for local historians and history buffs. The discovery in March of three more grinding wheels was more of a hysterical moment.

Autauga County Heritage Association member Joanne Johnson issued a triumphant and excited shout when city of Prattville workers dug into the soil near the site of the first stone's discovery during a follow-up dig after it was removed and taken to the museum for display. She halted the dirt-scooping operation when she saw what she thought might be another historical find.

"I saw it and I went down in the hole to find out what it was," Johnson said. "I could see as I smoothed the dirt away that it was rounded, and I hollered, 'It's a stone.' I couldn't tell at first whether it might have been clay, since it was a reddish color. I wanted to get down and feel it, make sure it wasn't something else. When I first saw it, I was more hysterical than historical."

Ann Boutwell, who discovered the first evidence of a mill operation, said she felt the same way Johnson did when she unearthed the relic.

"I could not have been more excited if I had won the lottery," Boutwell recalled. "It took a long time to uncover that millstone. We thought we had found a mill, but we didn't know for sure this was a mill site until we uncovered that stone. Once we saw that stone, we were really positive."

Teresa Lee, who was on hand when each of the stones was uncovered, confirmed that the two women acted similarly.

"There was one big squeal when the first one was found," said Lee, pointing to Boutwell, "and there was one big squeal today when they found the second one."

Boutwell said she and other association members had conducted extensive research into the possible location of a mill or series of mills that were owned at one time, among others, by William Montgomery, who also owned Buena Vista.

The local history buff said records on file with the Autauga County Probate Office show that Montgomery petitioned county commissioners in the 1840s to build a larger dam so that he could operate not only a grist mill, but also a flour mill, a rice mill and a saw mill along the creek.

"Those stones could go back to William Montgomery," mused Boutwell.

Greg Duke, executive director of the heritage association's Prattaugan Museum, said the archeological find was "the biggest item since I took over," and Prattville Mayor Bill Gillespie Jr. agreed that the significant historical discovery proved how hard life was during the city's earliest days.

"I know that in some shape, form or fashion some of our people's roots go all the way back to that," Gillespie said. "It's very exciting for me, because I used to play in that area when I was young."

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