Stony Brook Grist Mill

Stony Brook Grist Mill Review

A short drive from Route 6A is the Stony Brook Grist Mill, a restored, operating 19th-century fulling mill (a mill that shrinks and thickens cloth), now also a museum. The old mill's waterwheel slowly turns in a small, tree-lined brook. Inside, exhibits include old mill equipment and looms; you can watch cornmeal being stone-ground and get a lesson in weaving on a 100-year-old loom. Out back, across wooden bridges, a bench has a view of the pond and of the sluices leading into the mill area.

Early each spring, in April and early May, Stony Brook's Herring Run boils with alewives (herring) making their way to spawning waters; it's an amazing sight. The fish swim in from Cape Cod Bay up Paine's Creek to Stony Brook and the ponds beyond it. The herring run, a rushing stream across the street from the mill, consists of ladders that help the fish climb the rocky waters. Seagulls swarm in and pluck herring from the run into midair. Sadly, disturbingly low numbers of returning herring have prompted the state to issue a three-year moratorium on fish harvests at the run. Starting with the spring of 2006, no herring can be taken from the stream, ending a long-standing tradition in hopes of increasing fish stocks. Farther down the path to the stream, there's an ivy-covered stone wishing well and a wooden bridge with a bench.