Barkhurst Mill

Morgan County, Ohio

GONE

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The Barkhurst Gristmill was built about 1830 by Benjamin and John Pierpoint. John Pierpoint's sons Jonathan and Samuel worked with their father in the mill and eventually assumed the operation. Eli McInturf purchased the mill in 1875. McInturf continued to operate the gristmill until the late 1800's when the mill was bought by the Barkhurst Family.

Today, the 2 1/2-story frame structure stands tenuously in ruins. The large block sandstone foundation is deteriorating and the 1830 support beams are disintegrating. The floors are all but gone. The roof is in fair condition relative the condition of the building. Some of the windows are boarded while some are just open. The exterior of the structure is covered in beautifully weathered gray plank siding. Present owners of the mill have tried to acquire financial assistance to repair the foundation to secure the structure but have not been successful.

Barkhurst Gristmill, although in a state of ruins, offers an interesting location. Found in a remote area of eastern Ohio, the mill sits on Wolf Creek next to the Barkhurst Covered Bridge. There are remnants of the old millrace dug by Benjamin and John Pierpoint. It is fun to interpret the landscape and identify where the millrace was funneled to the mill and where the waterwheel was located. (Hart, Ruth)

DIRECTIONS: Morgan County. Marion Township. From Chesterhill, north on S.R. 377 1 mile, right on C.R. 52, 1 mile (bare to the right), on curve at covered bridge.

Gone as of 2011

Barkhurst Mill Bridge assumes its name from a mill that used to sit adjacent to the bridge. The mill is now gone.The Barkhurst Mill Bridge spans Wold Creek with 81 feet. Wolf Creek is usually a shallow stream with a 70 foot wide bed at the bridge.

Barkhurst Mill Bridge was built in 1872 with multiple kingpost truss and weathered gray siding. Originally there were horizontal ventilation panels open on the bridge, but plank siding was installed to cover the opening on the west side to prevent water and snow from blowing into the bridge. The bridge has an ever so slight camber visible in the floor and roof. The single span bridge rests on cut stone abutments with formed concrete poured to one side of the abutments to prevent the stream from washing out behind the abutments.

The north portal of the bridge has a gravel road but the south portal has a dirt road. The Barkhurst Mill Bridge seems to have been neglected for many years. The siding is in poor condition. Where the siding has shrunken, water can get in through the seams between the planks and pieces are missing. If Barkhurst Mill does not receive some attention, its future is doomed to non-existence.

DIRECTIONS: Marion Township, From Todds, south on CR 52, 1 1/2 miles, left on T 19, 1/2 miles, at Barkhurst Mill. (Krekeler, Brenda, Covered Bridges Today, 1989)