A very important part of the life of the early settlers
depended on the grinding of their corn and grain. Boston applied the
use of windmills for grinding. The inhabitants of Winnisimmet and the
surrounding communities had to travel to Timothy Sprague’s grist mill
near Malden Square. Sprague erected his mill in 1641 in order to
harness the streams for grinding. In 1721, the people of the Rumney
Marsh section petitioned the selectmen of Boston, of which Chelsea
was still a part, for a right to build a tide-water mill. The
selectmen of Boston, after viewing the site, finally granted the
petition, but there were so many restrictions and binding attachments
that nothing was done immediately. In 1734, Thomas Pratt at his own
expense, built a tide-water mill, originally known as “The
Mill,” the forerunner of Slade’s Mill.
Samuel Watts bought a quarter interest in “The Mill” in
1735. Samuel Watts died in 1770, leaving his interest to William
Watts. Thomas Pratt purchased the inherited interest from William
Watts on June 9, 1772, for forty pounds, becoming sole owner of
“The Mill.” March 9, 1780, Thomas Pratt sold one half of
the grist mill to Samuel Clark for six hundred pounds sterling and
fifty Spanish milled dollars. On May 27, 1780, Samuel Clark sold his
one half interest to James Stowers for the same purchase price.
In 1816, after what appeared to be a disastrous fire, the town
bought out the old owners for two hundred pounds sterling and rebuilt
the dam across the tide-water creek . The town also erected a new
tide mill on the site of the original mill. The charter of the new
mill read: “that the mill must at all times be ready to grind
corn for any citizen of Chelsea, provided that the corn is raised in
the Town of Chelsea.” When the farmer brought the grain to be
ground, he would pay a miller’s dole for the service, a certain
percentage of the grist.
In 1827 Henry Slade acquired a share in the mill. While under
Henry Slade’s management, the mill began to grind snuff as well as
corn. Spices at this time were sold whole, to be ground by hand at
home. Two of Henry’s sons, David and Levi, entered into the business,
and in 1837, conceived the idea of grinding spice in the mill. David
and Levi ground up a half barrel of cinnamon, carrying the barrel
between them, they visited all the local grocers and was soon sold
out. Spice grinding became very successful for the two brothers who
operated under the name of D. & L. Slade Company. Years later
most of the mill was equipped with electrically driven machines. All
the hard work that David and Levi did so painstakingly by hand was
later done in a fraction of the time without a hand touching package
or contents.
The machinery for harnessing the tide and opening the sluiceway is
still operable. The dam spans the tidewater creating a pond. A
sluiceway with hinged gates is in the dam. The pressure of the
incoming tide opens the gates. When the tide goes out the current on
the other side shuts the gates and holds the water in the pond. When
the tide begins to go out and water recedes below the dam, the
sluiceway gates are opened in the mill. Water from the pond flows
into round upright cylinders. Each cylinder contains a shaft with
pitched blades on the lower end. Water falling on the blades rotates
the shaft. On the upper end of each shaft is a wooden, cogged,
gearwheel connecting a shaft that turns the grinding wheel, a huge
round stone that weighs eighteen hundred pounds.
On June 30, 1972, Slade’s Spice Mill was placed on the National
Register of Historic Places.