Story of early Sycamore mill shared at lunch

When people learn about pioneer life, it is pretty obvious that it was a struggle to survive. One sign of progress in an early community was a mill.

Powered by water, mills were a popular place as farmers would bring their grain and have it turned into flour. Saw mills also made it much quicker and easier to build homes and other structures for a town.

On Nov. 5 join Al Roloff as he shares his research on Sycamore’s Comb’s Mill as part of the Sycamore History Museum’s Brown Bag Lunch series.

Roloff has studied Comb’s Mill for years. His interest started since his family lives on the Kishwaukee River near the former site of the mill. Roloff also played an important role in the disassemble, move and reassemble of the Miller-Elwood Cabin, an 1835 cabin that now is located at the Hoppe Heritage Farm Forest Preserve near Russell Woods.

During his presentation Roloff will focus on the history of the mill from 1845 to the late-1870s, and its owners and function as a saw mill, grist mill and a gathering place for community events. He also will explore the connection between this mill, the Genoa mill, the Miller-Elwood cabin and one of DeKalb County’s founding fathers – Bill Miller.

The Brown Bag Lunch will begin at noon at the DeKalb County Community Foundation, 475 DeKalb Ave. in Sycamore. The program is free and open to the public. Donations are welcome. For information, call 815-895-5762 or visit ]sycamorehistory.org.