Mills of the Eastern Free State | National Museum Publications

The discovery of diamonds in 1869 and of gold in 1886, and the influx of several thousand fortune seekers which followed these events created new markets for grain products in Kimberley and the Witwatersrand. This, in turn, encouraged the cultivation of wheat and mealies in the Free State and Basutoland (Lesotho).

One of the first mills to be erected in the Eastern Free State, to grind wheat and mealies, was the Leeuw River Mill. Situated alongside the Leeuw River (Lions River) to the south of Westminster in the Tweespruit District, the mill was built by the brothers John and Charles Newberry. The cornerstone was laid on 11 June 1892 by Mrs. Charles Newberry and construction was completed about two years later. It was without a doubt one of the most ambitious undertakings of its kind. To get the water necessary for powering the mill, a large dam (later known as the Newberry dam) was built on the Leeuw River. From this dam the water was led, first through an open furrow, and later through a steel furrow, measuring about one by one-and-a-half meters, to the mill. The stream of water was used to power the 60HP turbine, which in turn started turning gears and cogs that moved the large roller mills used for grinding the grain. At the time, wheat and mealies were brought to the Leeuw River Mill by ox-wagon from as far as Aliwal North.

The mill itself was one of the most modern installations of its kind. The sandstone building consisted of a large cellar and three storeys that contained all possible facilities for the weighing, sorting, washing and milling of wheat and mealies. It is said that the whole process, from grinding to bagging the grain, was done mechanically without any contact with the miller’s hands; even the full bags of flour were slipped down a shute from the third floor to be loaded onto the ox-wagons.

In 1900, during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), the British Mounted Infantry were ordered to destroy the mill, but were defeated by Boer General Christiaan de Wet at Jammersdrift on the Caledon River. The Leeuw River Mill remained intact throughout the war, and is still standing today, but stopped operating about 30-40 years ago.

A second mill, also built from sandstone, is situated about 16 kilometres from Hobhouse, on the banks of the Caledon River. Unlike the mill at Leeuw River, the Don Don River Mill used the force of the river flow to turn an enormous waterwheel. The waterwheel powered the machinery used for grinding the wheat and mealies. The milling equipment, that was all imported from Sweden, is still housed in the mill to this day. And since Lesotho is so nearby, the Basotho people brought their wheat and mealies by canoe across the Caledon River to also be ground into flour at the Don Don River Mill. Today, the old mill is run as a guest lodge providing guests with accommodation overlooking the Lesotho mountains.

The Eastern Free State was fast becoming a big grain producing area and milling was a very profitable business. In 1907, the railway line from Bloemfontein reached Ficksburg, passing Gumtree station, so named for the many Eucalyptus trees growing in the surrounding area. Shortly thereafter, Charles Stevens, a local farmer and businessman born in England, started building a five-storeyed mill on a piece of land adjoining the station. The mill started trading as the Schuttesdraai Milling Co. The wife of a neighbouring farmer would later recall, “The mill was very well situated alongside the railway lines with its own loading platforms useful not only for the transport of products from the mill but also for the off loading of coal for the steam powered machinery.”

Housing for the mill staff was built, as well as a school. A small shop also supplied in the needs of the growing community. “The mill which ran night and day, was literally, the heartbeat of Gumtree”, the farmer’s wife would reminiscence.

In 1916, Schuttesdraai Milling Co. merged with the Bloemfontein Mill of S.A. Milling Co. to form the Orange Free State Milling Co. Three years later, with the passing away of Charles Stevens, the name of the mill changed once again when the S.A. Milling Co. bought out his shares in the company.

The mill operated until December 1958, when the machinery was shut-down and the equipment sold. To this day Gumtree Mill is still the highest sandstone building in the southern hemisphere and one of the tallest sandstone buildings in the world.