Nestled in a quiet valley, along a fast running creek in Eastern Iowa, you’ll find a beautifully preserved relic of the state’s agricultural past. The Pine Creek Grist Mill lies within Wildcat Den State Park and is situated between Muscatine and Davenport Iowa.
The mill was built in 1848 by Benjamin Nye who settled in this region. The cost is reported to have been around $10,000 (a lot of money in those days!) and was made of timber that Nye cut in another of his mills nearby.
The mill, in it’s current version has basically been unchanged since the 1920’s. Before that it weathered a few storms over the years. 1883 would stand out above all the others. In the spring of that year, following a winter of extremely heavy snows, the temperatures rose rapidly causing a quick thaw. Coupled with that were a few torrential rain storms, and major flooding was the result.
In anticipation of the flood, Herman Huchendorf and two employees relocated as many of the flour bags as they could up to the second floor of the mill. By evening, the workers decided to try to reach higher ground and ended up getting swept into the water and were fortunate to grab a nearby bridge and pull themselves to safety. Huchendorf decided to stay in the mill, but moved up to the top floor. He tore up a blanket and tied himself to one of the beams with the hope that if the mill collapsed, he might use the wood to stay afloat.
When the flooding peaked, it struck the building so hard that it washed away the entire downstream side of the mill. The water rose almost to the second story of the building before receding. In it’s wake, most windows were broken out, the machinery was in terrible shape, and a lot of siding was torn away. Much of he foundation was washed away as well. Oh and those bags of flour up on the second floor…they were strewn downstream and throughout the wooded area to the south.
In the aftermath, Huchendorf received tremendous support from his neighbors and friends, who helped to rebuild the mill through financial support and labor.
The main part of the building is three and a half stories that measures 40 feet by 45 feet. It is attached to a two-story addition that measures 35 feet by 45 feet. The building was built of native oak beams. It utilizes mortise and tenon joints that are connected with wooden pegs.
The mill itself is powered by a 20-horsepower water turbine that has a 40-horsepower steam engine back-up when the water level is low. The mill has three separate plants in it. The main plant is a “three stand” double roller mill that produced wheat flour and is located on all three floors. A single stand triple roller milling plant was added to mill corn. It includes a set of 36 inches grindstones to produce Buckwheat flour.
The Pine Creek Grist Mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
For more information on the mill, be sure to visit the Friends of Pine Creek Grist Mill website.