History of the mill

Enar Tjärnström, a native of Norsjövallen, was the first owner of the mill built in 1946. He was a miller's son and had previously had a mill business in Vännäsby before he and his wife Dagny moved here to her home area in the mid-1940s.

Enar Tjärnström owned the mill until January 1968 when it was bought by Stig Ström, Orrliden and Harry Holmlund, Klutmark. Stig became the sole owner in 1994 and he ran the mill until it closed in 2003.

Enar started work on building the mill in May 1946. At this time, the village had been without a mill since the turn of the century and the nearest mills were in Klutmark and Burliden.

The mill was built at a time when it was difficult to obtain materials and machine parts as the end of the war was only a year away. In October 1946, however, the impact mill could be put into operation and the first feed flour could be ground. Before Christmas of the same year, the finer sieve meal could also be ground.

For over 50 years, the millstones of Skråmträsk kvarn turned and hundreds of tons of flour passed through. The mill in Skråmträsk was widely known for its high quality barley flour.

When grinding barley flour, the barley was first husked in a shell mill, then ground in a stone mill and finally ended up in the sieve, which had eight different layers. Good quality grain was important, but it was also an advantage that the miller mastered the craft as a millstone could weigh 1500 kg and the flour was burned if the pressure was too high.

In the 1950s, farmers came to the mill by horse and cart. In the morning, there could be several carriages in line and it was the "first to mill" principle that applied. The wait could be long, but the drivers probably did not think it mattered much as they had quite a nice time in the mill chamber where many topics were discussed and the coffee they brought was consumed.

The mill became a natural meeting place for many, but when appointment booking was introduced at the change of ownership in 1968, the queues decreased and the social gathering around the mill decreased, but the mill wheels continued to turn.

Many are the sacks that were carried in the mill. A sack elevator took the sacks up to the second floor, which were then carried to the scale. Stig Ström explains that, from the beginning, payment was made per sack that was ground, which meant that the farmers filled the sacks to the limit. Each sack could then weigh up to 100 kg.

Some modernization took place, for example, when investments were made in 1969 to be able to accept grain in bulk. This made the heavy work at the mill somewhat easier, although the handling of the heavy sacks never completely disappeared. A mixer was also purchased during this time.

In 2003, Stig Ström closed the mill he had helped to build at the age of 15.

In 2006, the property was bought by Erik & Asta Hellgren, who renovated it and in the summer of 2009 opened the doors to the summer café that has been running in Skråmträsk Kvarn ever since.

Skråmträsk Kvarn with its old mill environment has become a popular destination for both local residents and tourists. In recent years, the café has been visited by about 13,000 people / summer.

Text: Ewa Larsson & Asta Hellgren