Native Indian Corn Grinder

**jimmy cee** 12/18/2014, 10:01 am

Years ago our neighbor had this piece in his yard, it weighs about 4- 500 lbs and is a bugger to move about.
He did mention as to where he picked it up, however that escapes my mind at this point.
He gave it to us before he moved and fortunately the move was down hill about 15 feet into my wife's flower bed.
We now use it as a bird bath, birds love it, we keep it fresh and clean, it's surrounded by flowers, lilies, lilac tree, etc.
Another bird bath is located a few feet away, with feeders all over the place. All the comforts of birds.
I had an old hand pump left over from a building project, so I just placed it along side to make it appear that's how water was added.
It's so thick, I don't think frost gets under it..
We are planning someday to donate it to a local native Indian museum, that's if they want it and can move it.

**sanderson** 12/18/2014, 11:05 am

There are areas in the Sierra Nevada Mountains (Audrey lives in their foothills and I live on the flatland) where there are several bowls worn into the rocks. A gathering place for women to pound the acorns and gossip (probably about their men folk). Very Happy

One area I saw had a magnificent view of mountains and small valleys.

Stock photo at Indian Grinding Rock state park:

**AtlantaMarie** 12/18/2014, 11:37 am

How cool!

**camprn** 12/18/2014, 11:52 am

I know that a lot of you know this, but some of you may not. The bowl part is called a mortar. The post that would be dropped or driven into the mortar to break up the corn is called a pestle.

**AtlantaMarie** 12/18/2014, 1:44 pm

I KNEW pedestal didn't look right...! Wink

**jimmy cee** 12/18/2014, 2:04 pm

That has to be many " moons" lifetimes of grinding
My wife will be interested, she has Cherokee heritage. She has a picture of her great grand mother who was a full blooded Cherokee woman, however all she has is the picture and knows nothing else.

**sanderson** 12/18/2014, 6:49 pm

Imagine your molars after a few years of eating rock-ground corn or acorn meal.

Jimmy, The Cherokee people are some of the best documented families. If she knows her grandfather's name (great grandmother's son), it may be listed. If it was a grandmother, it may be a little harder. When Mother died and I cleared her house, I found all these family photos and documents What a Face

which we have stored on the high wall in our bathroom for future scanning. Swede father, Illinois German stepdaddy, Mother's OK-TN-KY Cherokee.

**jimmy cee** 12/18/2014, 9:56 pm

Sanderson.
Thanks much.
We have been to Cherokee N.C. many times, she knows nothing but fathers name.
Any searches proved nil.
He was moved around a bit due to his mother being an alcoholic .
She's happy just having the one photo and memories.

FamilyGardening 12/18/2014, 11:34 pm

cool photos and stories!! thank you so much for posting them! Very Happy

we grew this past summer for the first time Painted Mountain Corn, dried it, ground it, and made corn muffins with the corn we grew....it was fantastic!....glad our magic bullet worked great for the grinding part....cant imagine having to pound it with stones....wow

happy gardening
rose

audrey.jeanne.roberts 12/19/2014, 12:05 am

Boy that brings back memories. When we lived in San Diego County, we owned a property that was one of the original homestead grants in the 1800s. Our adobe cottage was built in 1878 and was set among giant oaks that were estimated to be between 500 and 600 years old. We had 5 acres and a small stream that ran at the bottom of the property and we had a smaller mortar and pestle in our gardens.

It had been found on the property by an earlier owner. Mine was small enough it could have been moved, but we would never have taken it from the property as it was part of its history.

The oak trees there produced mass quantities of acorns - that would have fed the local native population well.

**jimmy cee** 12/19/2014, 10:34 am

I just chatted with wife, she gave me the story of this stone.
My neighbor ( 40 years ago ) he was about 70sh, when he was a young lad used to walk through the woods with his grandpa.
North of Punxsutawney, PA. probably late 1800s - early 1900s
They searched for arrowheads and came upon this buried stone.
There were many pieces of brush on it and while probing the area they discovered something hard that shouldn't be there.
Thus this stone discovery.
Would be a very interesting story as to how they retrieved it from the forest, probably horses.
We are planning to connect with The Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh and willing it to them for their native American Indian Indian display if they want it.

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