Gristmill

A gristmill or grist mill, otherwise known as a flourmill or grainmill, was an agricultural building used to grind up cereal grains into flour.

Description
The cereal grains that were ground up in gristmills included such crops as barley, corn, wheat,  and oats. Though these mills could also be used to grind bones, food scraps, and vegetable greens into meal for spreading upon the farm fields.

Mills operated by having farmers pay their operator, known as a "miller," a percentage of their ground grains in return for the use of their mill. Across the Dragon Reach and Sword Coast, most millers charged one bag for every seven, though some took only one for every eight bags when dealing with long-standing customers. In the Dalelands, local lords made sure that the mills in their land operated at a fair price.

Types of Mills
Across the Realms there were four types of gristmills, each named for the manner by which their millstones were powered.
 * Magicmill: The most atypical type of mill, these were powered by various magical means and usually created when no other motive force was an option. This could include such things as millstones powered by golems or stones enspelled with a permanent animate object effect. These were most commonly found in Halruaa and Thay.
 * Watermill: Mills whose millstones were moved by waterwheels, which turned by means of water passing beneath it or flowing over its top. This usually required the mill to be located at a waterfall or river, though some managed to run off a diverted flow from nearby rivers.
 * Wheelmill: Mills whose millstones were powered by means of humans (typically slaves) or animals, which dragged or pushed large beams affixed to the upper stone. Such animals were usually livestock, such as horses or oxen. The limitations of living motive forces restricted this type of mill to small operations.
 * Windmill: Mills whose millstones were powered similarly to waterwheels, but by means of wind catching in great vanes. These were typically found in areas with strong and steady breezes, such as along coastlines.

Notable Mills

 * Chasler Belvrost owned a flourmill along the River Reddan.
 * Deltar's Mill, a haunted gristmill in Eveningstar operated by Deltar Tummarlin.
 * The village of Ghars had a grist mill that was driven by oxen.
 * The Grainhouse, an ancient granary in the town of Purskul that doubled as a watermill.
 * Heward's Mill, a gristmill in Archenbridge that was operated by Salath Heward.
 * Jongrath's Mill, a gristmill in Tethyr that was driven by horses.
 * Julkoun's Old Mill, a mill in the village of Julkoun.
 * Mirrorman's Mill, a mill in the town of Shadowdale.
 * The village of Noktil had several watermills that were powered by the Immerflow river.
 * The Rainbow Monastery's caverns contained a stone grainmill.
 * Thorm's Mill, a gristmill in Mistledale operated by Thorm Ubler.
 * The village of Womford had a gristmill along the banks of the Dessarin River.
 * Woumar's Wheloon Mill, a gristmill in Wheloon operated by Leahon Woumar.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Storm Riders