Bustling mill town uncovered in the Ozarks

Waterloo50

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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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Mills are fascinating places. I'm not as familiar with sawmills as I am with grist mills, having worked at a historic one for 7 years and visited many others. I think what people don't think of is that a mill is actually one giant machine. We tend to see each machine in a mill as a single item but it takes them all to make the finished product so they are parts in a bigger machine in a way. Mills were vital to life in the 19th century. Indeed, they still are.
 
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Mills are fascinating places. I'm no as familiar with sawmills as I am with grist mills, having worked at a historic one for 7 years and visited many others. I think what people don't think of is that a mill is actually one giant machine. We tend to see each machine in a mill as a single item but it takes them all to make the finished product so they are parts in a bigger machine in a way. Mills were vital to life in the 19th century. Indeed, they still are.
I spent many years working in a number of saw mills. I operated a number of machines but my favourite was called a ‘double slabber’, it consisted of two massive band saws, the logs were fed into the two saw blades by a large metal tooth on a rolling chain drive, the two band saws were drip fed with diesel to stop the blades from sticking and my job was to make sure that everything was cut inch perfect, it was a real nightmare when the blades snapped, no health and safety regs back then.
That was just one machine with one job to do, to make the finished product took 5 different types of saws and when our mill had finished cutting the lumber it was moved on to another mill for finishing. So, you are quite right when you say that mills are parts in a bigger machine.

With regards to the Van Winkle mill, it started out as a 60 horsepower steam driven mill but the demand was such that Van Winkle purchased a few more steam boilers and increased the horse power to 150, the steam boilers powered the saw mill, gristmill and the wood production workshops. It was quite a clever enterprise, they had everything that they needed including a blacksmiths. It may appear that the Van Winkle mill was a solitary building but they were pretty much able to produce what ever was asked of them.
 
It's just so odd someplace so vital and busy could vanish under our noses. There's something like this not far from here, a resort of the era along the lines of the old Saratoga Springs resort. There was a massive hotel, a lake, stables and a small village nearby. I forget when it all collapsed but the ruins are still there, or some of them. Only parts of foundations remain and you have to look for those- it's just eerie knowing what had been there before it all kinda fell back into the forest floor.
 
Thanks for sharing this awesome story. I can relate to this because I have worked in hard wood lumber for over 50 years. Just love the smell of fresh cut oak! I was a sawer, logger, machine operator, scaler, lumber inspector, and any other job related the manufacturing of lumber. Sawmills have had there place of history for a long time. Ship building, lumber for houses, bridges, wagons, and the list goes on...
 
Thanks for sharing this awesome story. I can relate to this because I have worked in hard wood lumber for over 50 years. Just love the smell of fresh cut oak! I was a sawer, logger, machine operator, scaler, lumber inspector, and any other job related the manufacturing of lumber. Sawmills have had there place of history for a long time. Ship building, lumber for houses, bridges, wagons, and the list goes on...
I can relate to that, I was a sawyer for many years and really enjoyed the work, we cut pine which was used for fencing panels, sheds etc. The smell of freshly cut pine is unbeatable, it was hard work and extremely cold during the winter months but I’d happily do it all again.
 
Here's a little bit about the mills at Grandin, MO. No telling how many of the railroad ties in this nation were done here. http://www.watersheds.org/farm/grandin.htm
Thanks for posting that link. It’s an incredible statistic that those two mills were producing around 220,000 feet of board per day, that’s an amazing amount, Its understandable how the mill managed to clear an entire forest given that they were operational over a 14 year period.
I’d like to have seen a picture of the conveyor that lifted the logs from the pond and into the mill, I’d often wondered how that was achieved, I always imagined that they would have used teams of horses for that kind of thing. I’d also be interested to know what type of engine was used on the forest railway lines.
The noise level with the boilers, steam engines, lathes and saws all running in unison must have been deafening.
Once again thanks for posting the link, I really enjoyed learning a little bit about Grandin Mill.

I’ve managed to find some footage of Grandin mill...some great photos along with pictures of how the mill operated.
 
Thanks for that great story, I love stories like that.
Agreed, as you may have noticed I’ve requested that this thread be moved from the general history discussion to the more appropriate railroads forum, we were at risk of straying far from the Civil War period, also a lot of those mills had railroad connections so all is good. we can continue our discussion on the mills, railroads and general industry. I’d like to read more about the industrial side of things, I found the Grandin mill story fascinating so if you know of anything similar I’d like to read about it. :thumbsup:
 
This is really cool--I actually drive right by this on Highway 12 every time I go to Rogers and had no idea it was there! Next time I have time to spare, I'll have to stop. :smile:
If you do find the time to visit the place I’d be interested to read what you think of it, it’d also be great if you were able to take some photos.
 
Thanks for posting that link. It’s an incredible statistic that those two mills were producing around 220,000 feet of board per day, that’s an amazing amount, Its understandable how the mill managed to clear an entire forest given that they were operational over a 14 year period.
I’d like to have seen a picture of the conveyor that lifted the logs from the pond and into the mill, I’d often wondered how that was achieved, I always imagined that they would have used teams of horses for that kind of thing. I’d also be interested to know what type of engine was used on the forest railway lines.
The noise level with the boilers, steam engines, lathes and saws all running in unison must have been deafening.
Once again thanks for posting the link, I really enjoyed learning a little bit about Grandin Mill.

I’ve managed to find some footage of Grandin mill...some great photos along with pictures of how the mill operated.
A wonderful, educational film.
 
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