CHINA GROVE — The hum and buzz of the old Roller Mill could once be heard on the streets of downtown China Grove. While machines ground grain into flour, farmers would gather on the grounds to trade, barter and sell.

To fourth-graders walking through the mill Monday, the old walls seemed to come alive once more.

“The mill hasn’t changed since it closed down,” said Kyle Whisenant, instructional technology specialist with Horizons Unlimited. “There’s even flour still in the chutes.”

Monday’s trip was part of a partnership between Horizons and the Rowan Museum. The two began working together in 2017 to provide support for social studies and STEM curriculums in Rowan-Salisbury Schools.

Last year, local eighth-graders visited the Old Stone House to learn about its history and to study water quality, acid rain and archaeology. This year, Horizons is piloting an additional program — a study in industry and agriculture at the Roller Mill for fourth-graders.

“A big part of U.S. history is about farms,” Whisenant said. “It’s about agriculture; it’s about industrialization.”

The Roller Mill is one of the few local industrial agriculture structures from the turn of the century that’s still standing, and it provides a perfect opportunity for learning outside the classroom.

“They’re touching machines,” Whisenant said. “They’re feeling machines. They’re putting their hands on the rollers.”

During the 2017-18 school year, fourth-graders from China Grove and Isenberg elementary schools visited the Roller Mill to get up close and personal with local history. Next year, Whisenant said, Horizons hopes to expand the trip to every county elementary school.

As they tour the mill, students answer tough questions about agriculture, trying to get inside the mind of a turn-of-the-century farmer. How much land should they buy? Which is better — irrigation or rain water? Should the farm hire workers or just depend on family members?

Really, Whisenant said, many of the answers come down to luck or hinge on individual circumstances.

“I want them to understand that there really isn’t a great answer,” he said.

Students could also watch videos of the machines in action on their iPads — something Whisenant said made the trip come to life. While students could physically look at and touch equipment, it is often difficult for them to imagine their function or what the moving parts looked like.

“That’s a hard one to really show,” he said.

After the tour, the students played the board game Catan Junior, which helped them learn and practice bartering skills.

Monday’s group was from China Grove Elementary, which is within walking distance of the mill. The fourth-graders trouped over to the site and clattered up and down the old wooden stairs, peering into corners, opening cupboards and sticking their hands down the cutes.

“We got to touch everything,” student Raegan Shell said.

Students were fascinated by the old elevators, as well as by the fact that workers used to pour ground flour through holes in the floor to the basement.

“That was weird,” student Brooklyn Phifer said.

But she still found the trip enjoyable.

“I think this field trip was one of the best trips we’ve ever had,” she said.

Rowan Museum Executive Director Aaron Kepley said the trips are breathing new life into the mill.

“We haven’t had school tours in quite a few years,” he said. “It was hard to justify coming here.”

The museum acquired the mill in 2016 from the Historical Society of South Rowan, formerly the Historic Society of China Grove. The group had owned the mill for 20 years but dissolved in 2016.

Since the turnover, Rowan Museum has sought to make the mill more open to the public, Kepley said. In 2017, the museum increased drop-in tour days, and it plans to do so again in 2018. The partnership with Horizons was a giant leap forward.

“This is helping things really get going,” Kepley said.

To learn more about the mill, visit www.rowanmuseum.org.

Contact reporter Rebecca Rider at 704-797-4264.