Cora Mill

History of Cora Mill by Brenda Krekeler

Cora Mill is the only remaining mill on Raccoon Creek. At one time there were dozens of mills on Raccoon Creek. Raccoon Creek originates in Hocking Hills in Vinton County, flows through Gallia County, and finally meets the Ohio River.

Cora Mill has a natural waterfall at the mill site that enticed Charles Giles to build his mill in 1845. Giles came from Maine and settled in Cora. Cora was occupied by settlers that migrated from Wales. Charles Giles operated Cora Mill as a gristmill. He adopted a son Aaron David, who worked with his father and eventually assumed the operation of the mill. Aaron attached a sawmill to the structure but it was destroyed in the 1913 flood. The mill was powered with a wooden waterwheel until 1890, when Aaron replaced it with a turbine. The new installation of the turbine increased the power of the mill.

Alfred Massie bought Cora Mill in 1899. The Massie Family operated the mill into the 1930's. The 1937 Flood took out the dam and the turbine, and Cora Mill never functioned as a gristmill again.

Today, Cora Mill stands on Raccoon Creek, proudly exhibiting years of service to the local community. From the road, the mill has been camouflaged with additional buildings. Currently, it contains an antique shop. The view of the mill from across the river is quite different. The 2 1/2 story, frame structure rests on a sandstone foundation. The foundation had seriously deteriorated and the present owners repaired it with cut stones to maintain the integrity of the building. Indeed they did save the mill. The rustic structure is covered with rusted, corrugated tin. A unique character of the building is a large dormer on one side of the roof. The dormer and another single story addition is frame and covered with weathered gray lap siding. All of the windows are 6 over 6 double-hung. Built in 1845, the building is old and in need of siding repair, but it is still a wonderful example of one of Ohio's few remaining gristmills. (Hartzband; Lewis).

DIRECTIONS: Gallia County. Perry Township. From Rio Grande on S.R. 35, south on S.R. 325, 2.5 miles, left (east) on Pioneer Trail, 1 mile, right (south) on Beaver (T.R. 38), 1 mile, at Cora just keep to the left, at the bridge on Raccoon Creek.

As of November 2012, viewed by Earth and Satellite Images from Google,

Cora Mill is no longer standing.

Click Here for Google location.