How was water used to supply power to the Nankin Mill? At one time, an overshot wheel supplied the power, but by the time Henry Ford purchased the mill in 1918, that wheel had been long removed and a turbine wheel, underneath the mill and hidden from sight, was being used.

The following links visually represent several types of wheels used to power grist mills. A description of a turbine wheel similar to the one that once powered Nankin Mills is not included. The links are from the Web site of Old Sturbridge Village, a living history museum in Sturbridge Massachusetts.  

Old Sturbridge Village recreates the daily life, work, and community celebrations of a rural New England town of the 1830s. It is the largest outdoor living history museum in the Northeast covering over 200 acres with more than 40 exhibits including three water-powered mills!

For more information about the Village, click on http://www.osv.org

· Undershot wheel
· Overshot wheel
· Breast wheel
· Tub wheel  
· Outward-flow reaction wheel
· Hydroelectric turbine