While at a writers conference at the College of the Ozarks last weekend, I had the honor of meeting Mike McArthy, an extraordinary photographer and author of a stunning new book titled “Historic Ozark Mills.”
His table-top book includes high quality, large, color photos of more than 25 mills. In the background of the photos, one can see nearby scenic streams, mill ponds, dams, rustic bridges and cabins.
He includes several views of most mills. The photos are so spectacular that I found myself looking at them again and again.
The information makes the book a joy to read, too. Next to each photo, McArthy has inserted details about the mill. From the text, readers learn about the construction, owners through the years, the original type of equipment that was used, types of equipment that were later used, type of grain that was ground, the type of power that was used, the last year the mill was in operation, nearby structures and the mill’s location.
McArthy also gives detailed directions for driving to each mill. A helpful map is included at the back of the book.
According to the author, most mills started out using stone buhrs but later converted to steel rollers. Some were powered by water wheels, while others were powered by beasts of burden, such as oxen. In later years, mills were sometimes powered by a turbine or a diesel engine.
The purpose of the mills varied. Although the power from most mills was used to ground grain, occasionally it was used to run a sawmill or produce electricity.
The mills were a popular gathering site in each community. Families loaded their grain on wagons and brought it to the local mill. They then waited near the mill and visited with others while their grain was being ground.
The ground feed was then put into sacks which the farmers loaded onto their wagons. Quite often, a family gave the miller part of the feed as a toll (payment). Until Prohibition, the ground grain from some mills was used by distilleries to make whiskey.
McArthy cautions that a few mills are privately owned and are not open for public touring. He was able to make special arrangements to take photos of most of the privately-owned sites. When he didn’t have permission to take close-up photos, he took them from the easement of a public roadway. He provides that type of information with each mill.
The Borgmann Mill, located in Boonesfield Village near Defiance, Mo., is the oldest mill featured in the book. That mill was built in the 1840s.
Four mills from Southwest Missouri are featured in the Western Ozarks section. Those are the Jolly Mill, located along the banks of Capps Creek southwest of Monett; the Richey Mill, located along Shoal Creek at the town of Richey; Hulston Mill, once located along Turnback Creek but moved during the construction of Stockton Lake to a site seven miles from Greenfield; and Wommack Mill, located in the town of Fair Grove.
McArthy has limited the first edition to 500 copies. Each book is numbered, dated and signed by the author.
For more info, contact the author at: Photozarks, 1499 Brittany Cove Dr., St. Charles, Mo., 63304. Call 636-399-2715. Also check McArthy’s Web site at www.photozarks.com.
Suggestions or queries? Send to Frankie Meyer, P.O. Box 731, Joplin, Mo. 64802, or e-mail frankiemeyer@yahoo.com.
