History of the Saw and Grist Mills

History of the Saw and Grist Mills. . Thomas Yates, the first settler of this area, arrived from Ohio via Fort Wayne and made his home on the riverbank at what is now Spencerville. On September 13, 1833, Thomas Yates registered his claim with the US land office in Fort Wayne. The Yates farm was purchased by Reuben J. Dawson in July 1836. Recognizing the ideal location for water power, he set aside 30 acres for mill purposes. Dawson hired Joseph Sawtell of Fort Wayne as his agent to oversee the construction of a dam, saw mill and grist mill. , Despite delayed development due to a lack of machines and available labor, the sawmill was operational by 1840. With the saw mill now complete, work could start on the grist mill, and soon timbers were being sawn for the grist mill. The grist mill was completed by the fall of 1844. It was four stories high above the ground and had two sub-ground areas where the mill mechanisms were located. There were two courses of stone, one for corn and one for wheat. Wheels that undershot and fluttered simultaneously were employed. Water for the grist mill's operation was provided by the mill race. The race was a quarter of a mile long and about three to four feet deep. The ground had to be removed by plows, scrapers, and the ground built the wall on the east side. The west side, following a low bank, made its own wall. Mr. Sawtell brought the Irish canal workers back from Antwerp, Ohio and they manually excavated the remaining trench. Since Spencerville didn't have any hotels, Mr. Sawtell put the canal workers in tents across the river from the mill. It seems that the Saturday night festivities provided the town with conversations for days. In the fall of 1844, wheat grown on the Dawson farm was processed to produce the first batch of Bour. The grist mill was located south of county road 68, where the mill race went under the road. Parts of the grist mill foundation are still visible today, however are located on private property. , The Dawson family ran the mills until they were sold to Henry Murray and John Zimmerman in 1859. Through the purchase, cutting and sale of timber on the open market, John Zimmerman and Henry Murray further improved the sawmill. After John Zimmerman passed away, Thomas Murray relocated to Spencerville and he and his brother, Henry Murray, paid $2000 for the Zimmerman portion of the business. They then incorporated as The Murray Brothers. Henry, having had considerable training in the grist mill, was the head miller. Thomas was in charge of the saw mill; he eventually added a handle factory and began shipping them by the carload. A roller mill that was still driven by water was erected in 1885 in place of the grist mill stones. The roller produced a finer, whiter flour which was marketed under the name “Pearl Drop, the Pride of the St. Joe Valley.” , The sawmill was abandoned by 1905 as wood became more scarce and competition from steam mills increased. Thomas Murray took up the marketing of the new flour and sold it to neighboring communities once the saw mill closed. Thomas Murray died in 1911. Following his retirement, Henry Murray leased the mill for two years to Gene Hensel and Clarence Gloyd. The mill wasn't a success, so it was temporarily shut down and sold to Jake Grill, who used it to grind animal feed after installing electric motors. Grill passed away in 1917, and Harvey Kimes eventually purchased the mill. Kimes sold the lumber for construction purposes and thus passed one of the best remembered landmarks of Spencerville. , Timeline
. 1836 - Reuben J. Dawson bought the Yates farm , . 1840 - Fall of 1840 sawmill was operational and work on gristmill begins , . 1844 - Mill race constructed , . 1845 - First flour ground at the grist mill from wheat raised on the Dawson farm , . 1859 - Reuben J. Dawson passed away and the mills were sold to Henry Murray and John Zimmerman , . 1867 - John Zimmerman passed away and the Murray Brothers formed a partnership and purchased the Mill property for $2000 , . 1885 - Stones removed and rollers installed, still powered by water , . 1905 – Sawmill closed , . 1911 - Thomas Murray passed away. Henry Murray leased the grist mill for a short time then sold the grist mill to Jake Grill. Jake installed electric motors and the mill was used to grind feed , . 1917 - Jake Grill passed away, and the grist mill was sold to Harvey Kimes. Kimes razed the mill and sold it for the lumber ,