The wheel at Metamora, Indiana is an undershot wheel and probably dates to the 1860's, when the Whitewater Canal towpath was made into a railroad grade. The railroad continued to sell water power and the wheel was installed directly in a lock. The wheel continues to operate as a tourist attraction.
It could be an undershot wheel, I guess, but in this photo (1977) it looks more like a breast wheel. From the spillover behind the wheel it looks like the water strikes it just about the axle or a little below. I'd guess that if the gate were fully opened, the water would strike the wheel just about axle level or slightly above.
The present grist mill was built in 1930 to replaced an earlier flour mill that burned. The flour mill used turbines with eight feet of fall. That would have produced a pretty ferocious amount of power for its time.
The appearance of the milling equipment gives away the comparatively recent date of construction for a stone grist mill.
I haven't been back to Metamora since 1979. That might make a nice Sunday drive this summer; it's only about two or three hours away.
