Daily AncestorMillwright
A millwright was a craftsman who designed, built and repaired mills and their machinery, such as waterwheels, gears and millstones.
Gristmills, sawmills and textile mills ran on waterwheels, shafts and wooden gears. The millwright planned the dam and race, built the wheel and gearing, and kept everything running.
In the factory age the job shifted toward installing and moving industrial machinery, and the word is still used for that trade today.
As seen in a recordOccupation column of the 1880 to 1920 census
Ira Bliss, 46, Millwright, N.Y.
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Millwright." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/millwright. Last checked 2026-10-01.