Grist is the grain that is ground to make flour. The Stony Brook Grist Mill ground corn, wheat, barley and oats in its heyday. Grain was essentially the life-force of the common person during the 17 and 18th centuries on Long Island. Grain became a bartering item – colonists began to engage in commerce with our neighbors to the north, Connecticut, and the west, Manhattan. Each annual harvest of wheat, corn and grain was dedicated to sustaining a family, as well as slaves and servants. In this way, Stony Brook became part of a larger Atlantic Trade economy. They sold the grain for cash or traded it for commodities, such as sugar or tobacco. Before the Stony Brook Grist Mill was constructed, the Setauket mill, built in 1665 was the closest in proximity, but still required the inconvenience of traveling.
Seeing an opportunity, Adam Smith, the son of Smithtown founder, Richard “Bull” Smith, brought forth an idea to construct the Stony Brook Grist Mill in a town meeting on January 27th of 1698. Receiving a majority vote for approval of the establishment, Smith began construction, only to halt it in May of 1699. Seeking personal profit for his part in constructing the mill, Smith agreed to continue to build the dam on the condition he be allowed one-tenth toll on wheat, one-eight toll on corn and rye. The town agreed and in that same year the mill was erected completely.
The Stony Brook Grist Mill would remain in the Smith Family for over one hundred and twenty seven years. Adam Smith owned the Stony Brook grist mill until 1711, when he would pass the responsibility and land to his son, Captain Edmund Smith.
Captain Smith would pass the mill on to his son, Edmund Smith Jr. in 1734. In 1750, the dam broke, flooding the mill during a heavy storm - But not all was lost. Amongst the shambles of the building were the original beams, which were used to rebuild the mill in 1751. These same beams are still an essential part of the mill’s infrastructure today.
In the years leading up to the American Revolution, Edmund Smith Jr. would join the Smithtown militia as a first lieutenant, awaiting the British invasion.
