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Featured Attraction: Pickwick Mill
By the CVB staff
Thomas Grant and Wilson Davis built the Pickwick Mill from 1856 to 1858 on the banks of Big Trout Creek in Pickwick Minn.
The mill is six stories, measures 60 feet by 45 feet and is driven by a large 20-foot overshot waterwheel. The mill is constructed of local limestone and timber framing. The timber frame was so closely fit that nails were not used, outside of the floor.
For its time and place, the Pickwick Mill was a very large "merchant" or commercial mill, and in its prime, the mill produced more than 100 barrels of flour a day. The flour was transported by wagon from the mill to LaMoille and then either by rail or boat to the eastern United States, Europe or South America.
The mill today is different from most mills in that it contains milling machinery that was considered "state of the art" during the last part of the 19th century. Antique roller mills, separators and flour dressers can all be viewed by visitors to the mill.
The mill produced flour and/or livestock feed continuously for 120 years until 1978.
In September 1980, the valley experienced a rare flood that destroyed the dam and spillway of the mill and the mill itself experienced extensive water damage. The owners of the mill considered felling the mill, but the community created the Pickwick Mill Association, which now administers the mill as a historic site and living museum.
For more information about the mill, its history and events, visit the mill's Web site at www.pickwickmill.org.
Pckwick Mill is open weekends in May, September and October.
In June, July and August, it is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to
5 p.m. Sundays.
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