Old Grist Mill, Gristmill in Lebanon, Maine, United States

Old Grist Mill is a 2-1/2-story wood frame building with a gable roof and a massive stone foundation reinforced with concrete, set on the south side of the Little River in rural eastern Lebanon. Its hand-hewn timbers measure about 13 inches square and up to 22 feet long, and a small single room extends beyond the foundation over the river.

Joseph Hardison built the Old Grist Mill in 1774 as a grist mill, and it is the oldest surviving industrial building in Lebanon. Over time it was adapted to produce wooden shingles and clapboarding, and it closed in the 1870s as railroad transport arrived and local farming declined. A 1970s restoration switched it from water power to electricity, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

The mill served as a gathering place where community members met and shared news throughout its operating years. It represented more than just a workplace, functioning as a social hub for the surrounding area.

The mill stands on the south bank of the Little River in rural eastern Lebanon, reached by Little River Road. Just downstream, the road crosses the river on the Grist Mill Bridge, whose foundation may also have been built by Joseph Hardison. The building is now a private residence with a small shop or studio space, so it is seen from the road rather than toured inside.

The mill's framing timbers are hand-hewn, roughly 13 inches (33 cm) square and up to 22 feet (6.7 m) long. A small single room projects beyond the stone foundation out over the Little River, and the Grist Mill Bridge just downstream may rest on a foundation also built by Joseph Hardison.