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Arrastre mill

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The Spanish word "Arrastre" meaning "to drag" was a crude ore crushing mill used in ancient times. The remains of such a mill have been found dating from the Fifth Century B.C. A special type rock was used for the drag-rock as one that would burr the ore rather than polish it. It was run by animal power, usually oxen or burrow. This particular arrastre was built and used by two of the Linville brothers, Jake and Hiram, around 1900. When found, it was nearly covered with silt and vegetation and was complete with both of the heavy drag rocks in it. The drag rocks are perfectly flat and smooth on the bottom which shows the mill had been used quite a lot. There were traces of decayed wood from the center bearing post which had been set very deep in the ground. The rocks in the mill are very heavy. Some of the bottom burr rocks were sixteen inches thick. It was moved to the Museum grounds from west of the Cave Creek Wash by museum volunteers. There were five pick-up loads of rocks used for

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