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Kenyon's Commitment to Quality
In the old days, farmers would bring their corn - or grist - to be ground. The miller usually received payment in the form of a portion of the meal. C.D. Kenyon, who purchased the mill in 1909, saw the potential for selling the ground meal, branded with the Kenyon name, in sacks and making it available to everyone. The grain was transported as far away as Providence by horse and buggy, and delivered to various markets throughout the state. In 1916, the company bought a Model T truck, which made deliveries easier making it possible to satisfy the growing demand for Johnny Cake meal, which then extended to the entire state of Rhode Island, and parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts.
We are still located in our vintage 1886 building, and we continue to use the original granite millstones quarried from Westerly, RI. The huge stones produce the exceptional texture and quality not found in modern, steel ground flours. Single pass stone grinding also preserves the vital, natural nutrition of the grains. Kenyon’s offers the ingredients that health conscious consumers are searching for, ground the simple, old fashioned way of long ago. In addition to our meals and flours, we blend a wide variety of mixes, containing our freshly ground products, free of additives and preservatives.
Our adherence to time honored techniques does not prevent us from introducing other non traditional organically grown grains to Rhode Island such as Red and Blue Corn. We offer a wide selection of specialized ingredients for bakers, as well as an intriguing line of preserves, chowders, relishes, and other Rhode Island favorites like Eclipse Coffee Syrup!
Our products can be found in local Rhode Island markets, as well as gourmet and specialty shops throughout Southern New England. Products may also be purchased on our web site, through mail order, or simply stop by our Grist Mill Store just across the street from our mill. Many fine restaurants feature Kenyon’s products, and each May numerous granges, legion halls, and churches, prepare our Johnny Cake meal for their May breakfasts. Additionally Kenyon’s is a proud participant of numerous festivals and fairs throughout the region. These events give us a chance to share our tasty clam cakes and Johnny cakes with friends, old and new.
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The Native Americans used a variety of grinding techniques, such as a mortor and pestle to turn their corn or maize into meal. The colonists, accustomed to their age old techniques of stone ground milling other grains, used this technique to stone ground the gift of the Indians corn. Our millstones were quarried from Westerly, Rhode Island granite, known to be one of the hardest granites around.
Grain is poured down into the hopper, and comes to rest in the shoe. The shoe is agitated by the spinning of the damsel. The damsel is attached to the rhind, on which the giant 2½ ton runner stone rests. As the stone spins, the grain falls from the shoe through the boot, which directs it into the hole in the center of the runner stone called the eye. The grain then spirals outward between the runner stone and the bed stone which grinds the grain into flour or meal. The bed stone remains stationary while the runner stone is propelled by a series of belts, pulleys, and gears which are linked together. A miller can adjust the rate that grain enters the stones, and by turning the tentering wheel, he can adjust the aperture between the stones . After the meal passes between the stones, it falls into a trough which encircles the bed stone and is pushed into the chute by metal cards or sweepers.
How We Grind Our All Natural Meals & Flours
All the millers senses are important. It is said that a miller must “keep his nose to the grindstone”. But a miller must use all of his senses to produce a high quality consistent textured flour. Grinding is considered to be an art, a skill that is passed down from miller to miller.
The folks at Kenyon's learned their craft from longtime miller and Narragansett Indian Charlie Walmsley and they remain committed to preserving and promoting the stone grinding tradition. Click here for a cutaway drawing of the mill.
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