Due to the abundant waters of the rivers Karkotis and Garillis, two watermills were built in the mountainous village Kakopetria. The two watermills were called “Milos tis Gonias” (watermill in the corner) and the “Milos tou Hadjistavrinou” (the mill of Hadjistavrinos). The first one was built on the central road, on the left bank of the river of Agios Nikolaos. The second one was built near the central road between the estuaries of the two rivers.
The watermills began their operation in the middle of the 18th century and more specifically in 1754. They finally closed down after the end of the Second War World.
The watermills used to grind grain and barley to make flour. The two watermills of Kakopetria worked in order to cover the needs of the village but also for the vicinal villages especially in periods of droughts.
Some testimonies claim that many people arrived from different parts of the island such as Mesaoria, Pitsilia, Ambelochoria and Pafos, in order to use the mill. They used to stay in Kakopetria for 3 to 5 days as they had to wait for 2 days in order to finish their job.
It is said that the people who used the mill paid a special fee, called “grind fee” which was actually a fixed amount of money for the service of the mill. The miller was getting paid either in money or in different products.
A distich saved by Papadopoulos Athanasios declares the great reputation of the mills of Kakopetria and especially of the so-called “Milos tis Gonias”
For this famous watermill there are also some other documents. The mill was built by a deacon of Saint Nicholas monastery in 1754. The documents which were found agree that this mill belonged to the Archbishop and then it was rent to others and some time later, the archbishop decided to sell it. An information that we have claims that the Archbishop has bought it for three hundred pounds and another one says that five other people have bought it together for two hundred and fifty pounds.
After the cease of its operation, the “Milos tis Gonias” was restored, in 1980. The mill of Hadjistavros was demolished. The first one is nowadays a tourist sight and its present owner is Aristeidis Papa.
The people who visit the Mill can learn some basic things for its operation and the history of the mills in Cyprus. When you enter in the premises of the mill you will see a rectangular wooden tub, which is narrower at the bottom. In this tub they used to put cereals, wheat and barley. On the millstone they used to place a special lever which grinded the cereals in small or coarse grains. On the millstones there was an axle, sometimes wooden and sometimes iron made. The axle began its operation when the water entered in the water wheel. The water begun its course in the headrace, then it continued in a wooden channel and then after a vertical fall it entered in a special water hole, which is built on the side of the water wheel. After this course, the force of the water caused the operation of the millstones.
Through the description of the Mills, we can see that the inhabitants of Kakopetria exploited perfectly the water of the village. We can also discover the cultural and historical side of the village.
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