Mountain Farm Museum Sorghum Mill

Sorghum cane was a common crop that was grown on many mountain farms. The cane produced a juice which was then cooked down to produce sorghum molasses. The molasses was used in many different ways which included being spread on biscuits or used in baking as a type of sweetener. To be able to get the juice from the cane, the stalks of the crop were inserted into the turning rollers of the cane mill. These mills were powered by horses or mules who were strapped to the end of a long pole that was attached to the top of one of the rollers. The horses or mules then walked around the mill in a circle, producing the power to crush the stalks. Once the juice was obtained from the stalks, it was cooked down in a large pan, pot, or kettle until it had reduced and thickened. Ten gallons of juice produced one gallon of molasses.

Unfortunately, not every family had access to the equipment needed to process sure cane. Therefore farmers took their cane to a neighbor that did have the capability of juicing the cane. As payment for the use of the mill, the farmers gave their neighbors part of the molasses that was produced from their crop. Because of the frequency at which neighbors asked to use each other's equipment, molasses making often turned into a social event where families joined together and help each other create beautiful molasses out of the sweet, green juice of the sorghum cane.

Tom Robbins, Mountain Farm Museum (Gatlinburg: Smoky Mountains Association), 8-9