Molino de las Pilas
Avenida Menéndez Pelayo S/N, Parque Municipal • 30550 ABARÁN
Information
A River Mill beside the Segura River
Located in what is now Abarán Municipal Park, beside the Segura River, the Molino de las Pilas (Las Pilas Mill) is a remarkable example of the town’s hydraulic and ethnographic heritage. Its history is closely linked to the traditional use of the waters of the Segura River and to the importance of milling in Abarán’s local economy.
The mill was built from scratch in 1853 at the initiative of several private individuals, in response to the need for a facility capable of meeting the needs of the local population. Until then, the only existing mill, the Molino de la Encomienda, had only one millstone and was insufficient. The Molino de las Pilas remained in operation from the late 1850s until the 1970s.
Water Engineering
The mill was a regolfo mill, whose operation relied on a hydraulic system consisting of several elements. Water was diverted from the river through the Molino Dam (Azud del Molino), built in the mid-19th century and now disappeared, and conveyed to the mill through El Cequión, a channel that is still preserved. The building housed two millstones, which were used to grind grain into flour.
The mill took its name from the public livestock watering trough built by the Town Council in 1804. It consisted of several stone basins and was supplied by a channel carrying water from the Acequia Principal de Abarán, the town’s main irrigation channel. The presence of the watering trough gave the area the name «Las Pilas», which later became associated with the mill itself.
A Place with Centuries of History
The site of the present-day mill has a much older milling tradition. A mill already existed here in the 16th century, during the Morisco period. The so-called Hernán Tornero Mill is documented as being in operation in 1548 and, in 1604, it was referred to as «the river mills», as it had two millstones.
It was owned by the Order of Santiago, as was the flour mill in the agricultural area, located at the end of the Acequia Principal de Abarán since 1515. Documentary evidence of this earlier river mill disappears during the 17th century, a period marked by the demographic crisis that followed the expulsion of the Moriscos in 1613.
From Soto del Río to the Municipal Park
The mill is located in an area formerly known as «Soto del Río Segura», which was also referred to as «Las Pilas» and, from 1853 onwards, as «Soto del Molino del Río». Traditionally, the area was used as grazing land for livestock travelling along the nearby Cañada Real de la Sierra del Oro, a historic livestock route.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the riverside woodland began to be transformed into a recreational area. In 1909, the first documented tree planting took place, an initiative promoted by the municipal authorities and continued throughout the following decade as part of Arbor Day celebrations. The participation of local schoolchildren in planting eucalyptus trees helped transform the former riverside woodland into a leisure and recreation area.
Source and Authorship
Information: Legado Vivo – Molino de las Pilas
Original text: Jesús Joaquín López Moreno (2018).
Bibliography: Caballero Soler, J. (2018), «La intrahistoria del Parque Municipal de Abarán», Actas IV Jornadas de Investigación y Divulgación sobre Abarán y el Valle de Ricote, Asociación Cultural «La Carraila», Murcia, pp. 189–223.
Related Resources
How to Arrive?
Contacto directo:
