Fire was one threat to flour mills, flooding was another. The Sanborn maps of all buildings in a town (earliest 1868) contained information to help insurance agents... and firemen - building material (stone - blue, wood - yellow, brick - red), fire equipment in the complex, what was on each floor, fuel and more. This is an Ellicott City MD mill. Check to see if your local mill, home or other building is on a Sanborn map.
Oliver Evans wrote about six flour mill fire hazards in 1795.
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