To build the mill walls the crew used oxen to drag stones from Nobscot Mountain and the surrounding areas. Each had to be shaped and fitted by local masons. The process resulted in the project taking over four years to complete. Much of the woodwork is American chestnut. Cast iron gears with wooden teeth connect the water wheel to the millstones. For every revolution of the water wheel, the gear turns the millstones on the 2nd floor twenty-five times for an output of twelve tons of ground corn in twenty-four hours. A series of spouts and elevators move the grain between the floors.  Four quartzite millstones, weighing one ton each, were shipped from La Ferte sous Jouarre, France for the sum of $238. French Buhr millstones were known to produce the whitest flour and were most durable. An 18-foot diameter overshot water wheel that uses the energy and weight of water to turn the millstones was designed by Fitz Waterwheel Company in Hanover, PA.

The mill ground its first cornmeal on Thanksgiving Day in 1929, amid a small snowstorm. Erwin Smith was the first Miller. Ford wished the mill to serve as a tourist attraction to showcase an historic trade. From 1952 to 1967 the Pepperidge Farm Company ground wheat there. The King Arthur Baking Company also used the mill through 1969. Today the Inn still uses its own flours ground at the mill to make corn muffins and wheat rolls and other products such as cornbread stuffing. Wheat flour, corn meal, and pancake mix can be purchased from The Wayside Inn Gift Shop or reservation desk to take home.