Millwright Ben Hassett sits in his workshop in Richmond with finished gears used in renovation of Stratford Hall gristmill. mwm View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

Millwright takes on biggest assignment

Visit to windmill as a young man is what led a man to become one of the country's few millwrights, taking on Stratford Hall's renovation as his first big job.

ROB HEDELT •   Rob Hedelt's archive •   E-mail Rob Hedelt

Date published: 10/16/2003

By ROB HEDELT

WHEN STRATFORD Hall Plantation formally dedicates its new gristmill Sunday in a private ceremony amid the oaks and wildflowers of its Potomac River setting, visitors will marvel at its intricate wooden mechanisms.

But nowhere on the massive drive shaft, tight-as-a-drum waterwheel or smooth-running wooden gearing will visitors find the name of the 26-year-old Richmond resident who completed the 27-month renovation.

That doesn't bother Ben Hassett, one of just a handful of millwrights in America today.

A teenage visit to a working windmill started Hassett down his current career path, but the journey hasn't been about fame or fortune.

For this lanky, meticulous craftsman with a thick shock of black hair, the payoff comes in meeting renovation challenges with a mixture of woodworking, mechanical engineering and elbow grease.

"You're there to bring the mill back, keeping as much of the historical fabric and structure as possible," he said. "When it's back up and running smoothly, that's the reward."

An inspired start

When Hassett was finishing up high school in Council Bluffs, he had already started working part time as a carpenter and woodworker.

Repairing decks, making repairs and doing some cabinetry, he enjoyed shaping wood and the feeling of building something.

But he quickly tired of the work's repetitive nature.

Then one day, on a sightseeing trip to a windmill in Alcorn, Iowa, Hassett marveled at the wooden parts and machinery powered by the mill's 66-foot sails.

Wanting to know more, he inquired about the machinery and who kept it repaired. He learned some of that had been done by a millwright from Birmingham, England, Derek Ogden.

Thinking that millwrighting might be the career for him, Hassett contacted the English master and asked if he ever took on help.

Ogden, who operated out of a shop in Madison, Va., initially said he couldn't really afford to take Hassett on for pay.

"He put a few sets of hoops out there for me to jump through," said Hassett, who was also tasked with researching millwork at Alcorn and seeking grant money to pay for a year of apprenticing.

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Date published: 10/16/2003