"There is a place shadowed by ancient moss-draped Live Oak trees, dappled in the evening sunlight, where lambs take their first steps on unsteady legs.

"Following their trails down from the high vista to the slope of the lakeside, they cross ancient ceremonial grounds of Indians who vanished abruptly long ago, taking their secrets away in earthenware pots."

-- Jack H. Conrad, Director, Millstone Institute of Preservation, Inc.

Jessie Hyatt Conrad created the Millstone Institute of Preservation, Inc. in January 1995. Its Articles of Incorporation state its purpose:

• The preservation and conservation of the Lake McBride aquatic system, including its water quality and its pristine watershed, the last of its kind in Leon County, Florida;
• The preservation from development of radiologically, ecologically, historically and agriculturally significant Millstone Plantation, including its home, outbuildings and grounds, as a sustainable, complete and balanced working farm;
• The preservation of Millstone Plantation for its aesthetic qualities of natural beauty and for scientific, educational and cultural uses and to serve, on a periodic basis, as a participatory example for the education and benefit of the public.

It is to be a place for the study and teaching of traditional arts and crafts, methods of farming and gardening and stewardship of the land, going all the way back to the prehistoric occupants of the land, some 12,000 years ago.

Among the areas of activity specifically listed in the Institute's Articles of Incorporation are raising fiber producing animals -- shearing, spinning, weaving -- and the encouragement of fiber arts; traditional and experimental organic horticulture and agriculture, based in the philosophy of a self-contained, sustainable farm; growing and use of culinary and medicinal herbs; manufacture and repair of traditional implements, tools and furniture.

These are not meant to be exclusive, but to guide the work of the Institute as it develops over the years.

The Institute embodies a reverence for what is good in the past, and a desire to see that good brought forward into the present and the future.

An overriding goal was to preserve the unique natural setting and the peaceful quality of the Millstone environment. It must be allowed to serve as a quiet, reflective retreat for artists, writers and others from the frenetic pace and stress of modern life. Its other uses are never to impinge on that.

Before she departed this life and her beloved Millstone in 1995, Jessie Conrad decided to preserve the family home and its surrounding land in a not-for-profit preservation institute, a gathering place for scientists and artisans and the interested public. Board member and archeologist Dan Penton sums up her gift in these words: “When you stand on that knoll and look out over Lake McBride, you know this is a powerful, powerful place; we only have an inkling of the richness of this land's archeological resources."

With its focus on arts and crafts, agriculture, history, and archeology, the Millstone Institute continues one of Jessie Conrad's favorite annual events, "Farm Friends Day". Each spring when it's time to shear the sheep, Millstone invites more than 1200 local school children, 60 teachers and 300 parents and volunteers to join Millstone's tradition of wool processing, weaving, and other farming activities. Family friend and local architect involved with the Institute, Ivan Johnson comments, "There are children who don't realize where wool comes from. The more civilization encroaches, the more important it is not to lose the past."

Long-range plans call for relocating several select examples of vernacular architecture from developing urban Tallahassee, to sites on the institute's property. These old homes will be carefully restored and used for small meetings, classes, and visiting overnight accomodations.

Millstone Institute of Preservation seeks and encourages your involvment in caring for this unique part of American history and ecology. Residential and commercial development around the property and at its entrance on Thomasville Highway constantly threaten its pristine setting and the very pure water in Lake McBride.