Frenchman's Bend Grist Mill (Location Key)

A grist mill turns grain or corn into flour. The grist mill in "Hand Upon the Waters" is located beside the store in Frenchman's Bend, and is where the inquest into Lonnie Grinnup's death occurs: next to his body, which lies "under a quilt," there is "a table and three chairs where the coroner and two witnesses sat"; the mill door is kept "open" for the sake of the public that has gathered to watch (72). In Jefferson this judicial event would have been held in the courthouse at the center of town, but in rural parts of Yoknapatawpha other kinds of public spaces are routinely used for trials and inquests, such as the two country stores in "Barn Burning" and the Whiteleaf store and church in The Hamlet.