Rutted shaft, Yannatos

Avalonia's Yannatos Preserve is a short walk away from my house and a favorite destination. At its heart is the meeting ground of the stream that drains the millpond and the Green Fall River, which, most of the year, is barely a decent creek. Still, in the 19th century, this area housed a large collection of water-powered factories, but, aside from a sawmill and a gristmill, I don't know what was manufactured in them, but I'm guessing textiles. The buildings at the water-course meeting site are long gone, but some of the stonework and the machinery remain visible on the preserve grounds. This is the shaft of a gear mechanism that was turned by the force of the water. Exposure to the elements for at least the past half-century has eroded away some of the metal. I wonder if the memories of all its useful work are enshrined deep in the remaining iron.