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Do you have a cane mill for sale? I have several internet friends who are looking for mills, particularly power mills. Please contact me at: christison@coastalnet.com

For more pictures and info on these old mills, please check Bill Outlaw's new page about syrup operations in the south GA, northern FL area at:

(click here for)
Bill Outlaw's Page

k and c    Cane Mills

This page is dedicated to pictures of cane mills used in the production of sorghum syrup or syrup from sugar cane. Some of them are powered by horses or mules on a 'sweep', and some of them are power mills run by gas engines or electric motors. The power mills are usually much more efficient in terms of gallons of juice produced per hour. The first two mills shown on this page belong to us, and the others are mills that we saw at shows, or the pictures were sent to us by internet friends. If you have a mill that you would like to share with us, please feel free to contact me, (Ken Christison),at: christison@coastalnet.com
If you are interested in the production of sweet sorghum, or cane syrup I would like to invite you to join our modest email list which exchanges information about all aspects of production and processing of syrup. Simply click the button below to go to a page describing the list and giving subscription information.  

                                                      

(click on image for larger picture)

chat 12 chat 45 1 chat 45
The first mill above is the one that got us hooked on the hobby. We bought it in 1986, right after moving to North Carolina. We didn't get the ambition to use it until a friend decided to raise some cane and take it to a gentleman over in Pasquotank county, named Lewis Williams. After this exposure to the process, I decided it was time to clean the old mill up and raise some cane.We made our first sorghum syrup in 1994, and used this mill for three years. We used our lawn mower to run it at first, and then our Farmall Super 'C', the 2nd and 3rd year. The next two are of our Chattanooga #45 which we have used for 2 years now. We run it with our 7 HP Alamo hit and miss engine. This is a great way to combine two of our hobbies. We cook with a stainless steel 'batch' pan, which holds 90 gallons of juice. This usually yields 8 to 10 gallons of sorghum syrup.

                                   
Don Dean
Don H. Dean, Dothan, Alabama, proprietor of Thirteen Oaks Farm and Cane Mill has graciously provided pictures and text showing his operation in Dothan, Alabama. Don is very knowledgeable about cane mills and is always looking for information on unusual mills. Here he shares a step by step narrative of the process of making syrup from sugar cane. Clicking on the image of his Columbus mill take you to this page.


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The mill on the left, above, is owned by Bill Bradshaw of Rusk, Texas. This is an Excelsior mill made by the Excelsior Foundry Co., Bellville, Illinois. The mill on the right was made by the Southern Plow Co. It belongs to Mr. Jack Croom, of Marque, Texas. Bill makes syrup from sugar cane. Check Bill's web page out at: http://www.gourmet-gardens.com/ (photos courtesy of Bill Bradshaw)


Above left is an unidentified mill owned by J. B. Nance, of Alton MO. On the right J. B. is getting cooking advice from the "Boss", grandson Clint Nance.


Here is a large mill owned by David C. Jones of Aroda, Virginia. We saw this mill at the Somerset show in Virginia. This is a 'King of the South #4', made by A. Baldwin and Co. Ltd, New Orleans, Louisiana. This is a sugar cane sampling mill. It is much larger than most of the mills found in the small sweet sorghum operations.


This is a Golden #36 cane mill built by Goldens' Foundry and Machine Co., Columbus,Georgia. It is owned by Shelton Byrd of Mobile, Alabama. Shelton makes syrup from sugar cane. (Photo courtesy Shelton Byrd)
This is a Chattanooga #71 in operation at the 1998 Steam and Antique Engine show in Chilton, WI. This mill is capable of producing up to 170 gallons of juice per hour. It weighs 1956 pounds. This particular mill was belted up to a Farmall 'M', and the photo was provided by Nelson Johnsrud, a friend from the Stationary Engine List. You can learn more about Nels and his hobbies by going to: http://members.lsol.net/GOP4EVR/
Here is another Chattanooga mill that Bud Endecott rigged up for a neighbor of his. They fastened the front of a two wheeled garden tractor to a swivel wheel mounted to the pole, and it just follows the pole as it pushes it in circles. (Photo courtesy Bud Endecott)
This mill was in operation at the show at Ferrum College, VA in 1997. This one is pretty neat because you could have the mule transport the mill to the site and then put him to work grinding cane :-)
This is a Blymyer cane mill that we saw at the Tuckahoe show in MD. It is the smallest power mill that I have seen. Made by the Blymyer Iron Works Co. Cincinatti, Ohio.
This is a horse powered Blymyer cane mill that is owned by Willard Moore of Jamestown, NC. We saw this at Willard's 'Yesteryear in Motion' show that is held on his property in Jamestown.
This is a mill that was sold by the Belknap Hardware Store and has been converted to belt power with the addition of a right angle drive and a belt pulley, for operation with a flat belt, driven by an engine or tractor. We saw this mill at Willard Moore's show in Jamestown, NC.
The mill above is used in Cuba to make 'guarapo' (sugar cane juice) This one was
photographed in a restaurant in Havana by Valerie Rilkoff, of Danville, WA. I have
pictures of several of these that can be seen by clicking on the image at left.

Above, the first two pictures are of a Southern Plow Company cane mill , model #18, and the third
picture is a Southern Plow Company model #4. Built by the Southern Plow Company, Columbus, GA.
These mills are owned by Robert Hensarling of Uvalde TX. The young man in the center picture is
Robert's father, Bill Hensarling. Robert builds 'world class' furniture, and is best known for his
Mesquite rocking chairs. His work can be seen by going to: http://www.mesquiterocker.com/

The mill pictured above is a "Bluegrass", made (I think) by or for the Belknap Hardware Company
in Louisville, KY. It is owned by Dennis Cotton of Columbus Ohio. If anyone has a Belknap catalog
with this mill shown, Dennis would appreciate hearing from you. Contact cotton@infinet.com
Dan Schooler Sr. of Rupert GA sent a few pictures of his operation including This Golden's #27 power mill powered by a 5 HP Monarch engine. Click on the picture to see a few more shots of Dan's operation. Contact Dan at: DSchoolers@aol.com

Alan Fannin sent these pictures of a couple of interesting mills. The first two pictures are
of a two roller mill with the name R. Relt cast in the top. The third picture is an unknown
model of a similar style.

 

MORE TO COME......

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11/29/03