City: Cape Cod, MA

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (508) 888-4910

Description: A working 17th-century gristmill with primitive wooden gears, the Dexter Grist Mill features a 54-inch French Buhr millstone. For the first 15 years after the incorporation of Sandwich, the residents of this first Cape Cod town had to travel to Plymouth to have their corn ground. Thomas Dexter of Sandwich remedied that situation by building a mill on this site in 1654 to the delight of all residents. A stream running through the village was dammed to create a picturesque pond and herring run, which give migrating herring a pathway from Cape Cod Bay to Shawme Pond. Dexter Mill offers a tour and sells fresh ground corn on the premises. It is open daily 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the summer, with limited hours in Sept and Oct. After Columbus Day, the mill closes until June 15. Admission is $1.50 for adults and 75 cents for children.