Bolles Flour Mill Marker

HMdb.org

THE HISTORICAL
MARKER DATABASE “Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”

Home — My Markers — Add A Marker — Marker Series — Links & Books — Forum — About Us

Word or Phrase

Add Photo — Add Link — Add Commentary — Correct this page — Print

Near Afton in Washington County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Bolles Flour Mill

By Keith L, July 22, 2008

1. Bolles Flour Mill Marker

Inscription. About 1843, six years before Minnesota became a territory, Lemuel Bolles erected on this creek the first commercial flour mill in the Minnesota country. Bolles salvaged wood from the shore of Lake St. Croix and carried it on his back to the mill site a mile and a half upstream. Lacking nails, he used wooden pegs in the construction of a small mill. First built for grinding corn and wheat, the mill was later remodeled and was in operation as late as 1875 when Bolles died. The stream on which the mill was built became known as Bolles Creek.

Erected by the Washington County Historical Society in cooperation with the Minnesota Highway Department · 1959

Erected 1959 by the Washington County Historical Society in cooperation with the Minnesota Highway Department.

Location. 44° 54.533′ N, 92° 46.843′ W. Marker is near Afton, Minnesota, in Washington County. Marker is on Saint Croix Trail North (County Highway 18 / 21) 0.3 miles north of Stagecoach Trail South (County Highway 21), on the right when traveling north. Click for map. Marker is at a highway pull-off. Marker is in this post office area: Afton MN 55001, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, as the crow flies. The St. Croix River Valley / Welcome to Minnesota (approx. 3.6 miles away); Brule-St. Croix Waterway (approx. 4.6 miles away in Wisconsin); In the Summer of 1910 (approx. 4.7 miles away in Wisconsin); Hudson Toll Bridge (approx. 4.7 miles away in Wisconsin); Louis Massey (approx. 5.2 miles away in Wisconsin); German Settlement (approx. 7.4 miles away in Wisconsin); Bicentennial Monument (approx. 7.7 miles away); Lake St. Croix (approx. 9.1 miles away).

By Keith L, July 22, 2009

2. Bolles Flour Mill Marker

Credits. This page originally submitted on August 17, 2009, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 725 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 17, 2009, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.