Venue Information

The Montague Bookmill is a used bookstore housed in an 1842 gristmill, set on the banks of the Sawmill River, a few miles north of Northampton and Amherst, Massachusetts. The mill building is also home to a unique cafe, a gourmet restaurant, a record store selling vinyl, CD's and DVD's, and an artists' collective.The original building was built on the banks of the Sawmill River in 1832. Alvah Stone was the first proprietor and it became known as Stone's Gristmill. Other owners after Stone were L.H. Stone, S.S. Holton, Sylvester Bangs, W.H. Nims, and George M. Stratton.

Families from Montague would come by horse and buggy to get grain. Whole grain came in from railroad cars and was brought down to the mill to be ground into flour. Grain was poured into the top of stone grinding wheels and the top stone moved, while the bottom one remained stationary. One of the old stones can be seen beside the lower parking lot. These stones were difficult to maintain, and it ...