KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — More than 150 years ago, two millstones were together at the historic Buffat Mill. According to a release from Knox County leaders, the mill was used by Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War and as the war raged and time went on, the millstones were separated from one another.
According to a release from Knox County leaders, the stones began to be known as "The Sister Stones." One was put on display at Spring Place Park and the other was kept at property owned by the same family. On Thursday, they were officially reunited during an event at Spring Place Park.
On a sign describing the history of the millstones, the county said Alfred Buffat took over the Buffat Mill in 1859 after his father. By then, the mill was a popular location in the Spring Place community and supplied the area with timber. The area also featured a blacksmith shop and hundreds of acres of farmland.
The Sister Stones were grindstones at the mill, and fell into the possession of two sisters — Jessie Arlene "Polly" Powers and Nance Jane Powers Henry, according to the sign describing their history. The stones were taken to property owned by the family.
The mill and surrounding property were donated in 1976 by descendants of Alfred Buffat, and the first millstone was donated in 2014. The other stone was donated on Thursday.
"It is Polly and the family’s desire to reunite the stones at Spring Place Park, bringing these pieces of history together once again. The families do not want a piece of Knox County history to be lost to buyers who are not interested stakeholders in this piece of Knoxville history," a release from the county said.
Aug. 29 was also Polly's 91st birthday.
"They grew up having those millstones in their grandfather's backyard, and the sisters tell stories often about how they used to sit on the millstones after the mill closed in 1924. The stones were taken and distributed to families' property," said Joseph Mack, the senior director of the Knox County Parks and Recreation Department.