Virginia Sawmills of the 1900s

Water has been used to power mills of all sorts since the year 6 AD (Secondary Source 1).  Because the water is already flowing in a given direction (and only in that direction), water wheels capture the energy of the moving water and put it to other uses.  In the case of sawmills, the water wheel turns due to the force of the water, powering many of the tools used for moving and processing lumber.  Some water wheels, such as overshot water wheels, have bucket-like protrusions that collect the water as it is poured over the wheel.  This allows the wheel to spin more quickly and thus generate more force.  Because lumber is so heavy and difficult to maneuver, watermills were popular to reduce the need for manual labor.  This also likely reduced work-place injury.  In modern times, watermills are considered a “green” source of energy and an alternative to electricity (Secondary Source 6).

This is a computer-generated illustration of an overshot water wheel (Secondary Source 6)