Near Westville in Walton County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Alford’s Mill

Photographed by Paul Fehrenbach, April 10, 2012

1. Alford’s Mill Marker

Inscription. Near this location, Marion Alford established in 1864 a water-powered grist mill that became the focal point of a small farming community that developed in this area of north Walton County. Archaeological remains of the mill dam and foundations still exist along Limestone Creek. Mills played a very important role in the growth of rural Florida communities in the nineteenth and very early twentieth centuries. Alford’s Mill provided corn meal, a staple of the local diet, and a gathering place for those who lived and worked in the nearby forests and fields. The community, known as Alford’s Mill until the early 1880s when the settlement was renamed Limestone, also included a post office and stage coach stop, churches, cemeteries, homesteads and farms. In 1883 the mill was sold to the Chandlers who operated the facility until 1893 when the Alford family reacquired the grist mill. In 1897 Alford’s Mill was converted to a sawmill, which operated until 1904, when the mill at last fell silent as the age of water-power came to an end.

A Florida Heritage Site

Erected 2008 by Walton County Public Works and the Florida Department

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of State. (Marker Number F-621.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1864.

Location. 30° 59.306′ N, 86° 3.616′ W. Marker is near Westville, Florida, in Walton County. It is at the intersection of Oak Grove Road and Alford Road, on the right when traveling east on Oak Grove Road. Marker is approximately two miles northeast of the intersection of Oak Grove Road and County Road 181. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1791 Oak Grove Road, Westville FL 32464, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on the Florida Panhandle.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and on the Gulf Coast.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At

Alford’s Mill Marker reverse, with the same text image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Paul Fehrenbach, April 10, 2012

2. Alford’s Mill Marker reverse, with the same text

least 7 other markers are within 12 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Darlington WWII Memorial (approx. 3.1 miles away); Home Site of Laura Ingalls Wilder (approx. 8.6 miles away); Kenan Home (approx. 11.9 miles away in Alabama); Emma Knox Kenan Library (approx. 12 miles away in Alabama); Geneva, Alabama (approx. 12.1 miles away in Alabama); Geneva County Veterans Memorial (approx. 12.1 miles away in Alabama); Fort Rucker Veterans Memorial (approx. 12.1 miles away in Alabama).

Photographed by Paul Fehrenbach, April 10, 2012

3. Alford’s Mill Marker

Looking west from intersection of Oak Grove and Alford Roads.

Photographed by Paul Fehrenbach, April 10, 2012

4. Alford’s Mill Marker

This view is looking east.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 22, 2018. It was originally submitted on April 24, 2012, by Paul Fehrenbach of Richfield, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 1,812 times since then and 71 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 24, 2012, by Paul Fehrenbach of Richfield, Wisconsin. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.