Waterloo50
Major
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2015
- Location
- England
photo https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/mar/11/bustling-mill-town-uncovered-in-the-oza/
In what is now, a quiet overgrown Ozark hollow in the corner of the low mountains and plateaus of northwestern Arkansas was once a bustling community centred around a sawmill, known as Van Winkles Mill. The mill served as a major resource for lumber and materials for the region. The mill was the dominant provider of materials for rebuilding after the civil war.
Starting in 1997 and following a lot of archaeological research, the story of Peter Van Winkle, the civil war and a sawmill are slowly being uncovered.
When archaeologists first arrived at the site of the old sawmill and town there was very little to see, they found a few steps leading up to the garden of the Van Winkle home and a fly wheel mount for the mill, the place was buried and overgrown which meant that the archaeological team had to cut their way through the jungle of briars just to get to the few remaining visible structures.
Forward 13 years to 2010 and the archaeologists were still working on uncovering the remains of the town and mill. What they had uncovered was the largest and first steam powered mill in the area, it completely dominated the landscape. The mill was responsible for producing the lumber for rebuilding Fayetteville after it was burned during the civil war, It also supplied lumber for towns like Rogers, Eureka Springs and the numerous railroad towns that were being developed. In 1862 the mill also provided materials for the winter quarters for the confederate army at Cross Hollow and Oxford bend. The army also used the mill to grind corn and house their wounded after their defeat at Pea Ridge.
The ongoing archaeological work has since uncovered the slave quarters along with the freedman quarters, the position of the anvil was also found which helped to identify where the blacksmiths workshop was located.
Ordinarily when we explore the civil war, we tend to learn about the battles, the men that fought them, we try our best to understand what life must have been like for those that lived through those terrible times but (I’m speaking about myself here) there is a tendency to overlook the very things that made the war possible, namely industry. There must be plenty of mills, workshops and industrial buildings hidden in the undergrowth just waiting for someone to stumble upon them. We can learn so much about ourselves and our ancestors if only we take the time to look. Let’s hope that more of these great heritage sites are discovered.
The sawmill appears to be a fascinating place and I’m sure it will appeal to anyone with either an interest in the civil war or period industries.
If I was able to, I’d visit the place in a heartbeat.
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