Mills
The Ozarks is well known for its beautiful streams and bountiful fields, both requisite ingredients for water mills. Taney County had its share of mills although few remain. Milling played an important part in pioneer life in the area.
As Ozarkers grew crops such as corn and wheat, they found they needed ways to grind the grain into meal. Prior to the development of gristmills various methods were used. The pestle and mortar process was borrowed from the Indians but the settlers found it did not yield enough meal for the effort required. Settlers refined the system by using the "Slow Tom". A slow Tom mill used water, which ran into a box that was attached to a pole with a pestle on the end. When the box filled, the weight forced the box to the ground and the water would run out. Then the box would rebound into the air, forcing the pestle down into a mortar to grind meal. Water provided the energy but again, yields were low.
Stone burrs were the next improvement to the grinding process. Grain was placed atop a flat rock called a burr. Another burr was placed on top of the grain. This rock would then be turned by hand, horse, or water. Refinements allowed the grain to be shunted onto the burrs and the meal into containers.
The first water-powered mills in the Taney County region were built in the 1830s. Some were built on springs, but most were constructed on dammed streams. It was necessary to have enough water force to turn a wooden waterwheel. This wheel then turned the stone burrs that ground the grain. Two methods were used to turn the waterwheel. The first was called the "undershot". Water was funneled against the under side of the wheel where paddles caught the force of the water. The flow of the water was controlled by a sluice gate which was closed when the mill was not operating. Opening the gate caused the water to rush through the millrace where it hit the wheel and started the grinding process. The "overshot" method added the force of gravity to the force of water. Water was channeled against the top side of the wheel into buckets or built-in containers. The weight of the water would force the wheel to turn and start grinding meal. The overshot mill was generally considered more effective when using a smaller water source. Horsepower and steam were also used to power mills when water was not available.
The oldest mill in Taney County is believed to have been built in 1831 by James Oliver on Swan Creek. Other mills were established on the White River and its tributaries. Easy access to the river made shipping of mill products much easier. Kissee Mills, Gimlin Mill, Jackson Mill, and Mills were just a few of the mills in the area. Very little remains of these historic mills. Fire, flood, and neglect destroyed not only the mills but a way of life as well.
As the years passed people became more interested in preserving this part of the Ozarks landscape. One of those people was Steve Miller, a Branson artist and curator of the Ralph Foster Museum at the School of the Ozarks. It was his dream to build a working mill for the museum and the college. With the financial backing of Alice and Hubert Edwards, that dream came true on Oct. 7, 1972, when Edwards Mill was dedicated on the campus of the college. Edwards Mill is a new mill made of old parts. Lumber from historic mills was used throughout the building as well as machinery and burr stones. The mill operates today, grinding corn meal and flour. Weaving and basket making also take place in the mill. Edwards Mill keeps alive the milling tradition of the Ozarks and Taney County.
Works Consulted
Ingenthron, Elmo. The Land of Taney: A History of an Ozark Commonwealth. Ozarks Regional History Series, Book II. Point Lookout, MO: School of the Ozarks Press, 1974, pp. 159-188.
Photograph of Edwards Mill courtesy of Lyons Memorial Library, College of the Ozarks
Map of area mills courtesy of Lyons Memorial Library, College of the Ozarks.
