This website is an historical, pictorial documentation of 57 old mills in Ohio. The initial research found these mills in 1987 through 1990. I am currently re-visiting Ohio's old mills starting in May 2011 through the present. The information present within these pages will expose you to the variety of ingenious methods millers employed to build, maintain and manage the gristmill and flouring industry of the 1800's and early 1900's. You will learn milling terminology in an "easy to understand" presentation. You will discover where and why mills developed and how millers developed their skills.
Each historical documentation is accompanied with an exterior photograph of the mill. Most of the mills will also have additional photos depicting interesting characteristics of the mill. There are a number of special features presented throughout the website that present interesting aspects of a mill site such as dams, millponds, canal mills, millstones, and waterwheels. Some of Ohio's most interesting mills deserve their national reputation such as Rock Mill near Lancaster, Bear’s Mill near Greenville and a functioning flour mill, Isaac Ludwig Flour Mill near Grand Rapids which are all documented in this website.
Each mill's historical documentation contains information about the date of construction, types of power used, years in operation, various types of operations the mill was used for, and general condition of the mill. The 57 mills documented within this website are worthy of your investigation. There is a notes link that discusses addition mills in Ohio but do not warrant a visit for reasons presented in the text.
This website is designed for the reader to discover Ohio's historic old mills, but more importantly, I hope that you will want to use this website as a tool to locate the mills, investigate the sites, interpret the landscape and find a part of history. Each mill has detailed directions. The best advice is to locate the mills first on maps, your GPS or GoogleMaps.com, then hunt for them. I hope you have many successful and exciting trips while Ohio’s historic mills.