Actually, the mill here ran much longer than what we think of as the typical 19th-century mill, which relied on the river as a highway. You may remember it sawed its last board in 1962--via sash saw no less! 1962! We can't frame this mill in a "traditional mode."

They had an extensive network of buildings to store raw and finished wood. An old picture shows logs stacked in row upon row on land. In the early days they pulled them in from the river and millpond, but as the years ticked into the 20th century, they must have had logs delivered by truck.

I don't know all the particulars of course, but the fact this mill ran so late into the modern day is practicaly unheard of. And it's a testament to its effeciency.

Also, it likely ran so long because its operator lived a long life. He was cutting (or at least overseeing) things here in his early 90s!

NH, you raise good points about free-ups on the apparatus linking the submerged wheel to the gearworks/pulleys above...I would guess that must have been an issue... but the folks here were quite proud to state that what helped this mill run so long into the 20th century was the fact it could run uninterupped in winter (keeping it profitable, etc).

How they competed, stayed viable against the modern mills is a mystery indeed.