Grist Mill Bridge, Dam and Mill Site

Last updated

Grist Mill Bridge, Dam and Mill Site
Grist Mill bridge Elsie.jpg
USA Michigan location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
LocationUpton Rd. from Island Rd. to Maple R., Duplain Township, Michigan
Coordinates 43°5′24″N84°24′21″W / 43.09000°N 84.40583°W / 43.09000; -84.40583
Built1865, 1901, 1912
Built byDetroit Bridge & Iron Works
NRHP reference No. 15000295
Added to NRHPJune 1, 2015

The Grist Mill Bridge, Dam and Mill Site consists of three structures located along Upton Road between Island Road and the Maple River, one-half mile west of Elsie, Michigan in Duplain Township. The three structures are:

Contents

The structures were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. [3]

History

Duplain Township was first settled in the 1830s. [4] In about 1845, Robert E. Craven (likely with his brothers Joseph and Thomas) constructed a saw-mill at this site. The saw mill operated for nearly 20 years. In 1865, Kellogg Bros. and Johnson purchased the site from Craven's estate and replaced the sawmill with a larger grist/flour mill, and built a timber dam to help power operations at the mill. Around the same time, a bridge was constructed crossing the Maple River a few hundred feet from the location of the current bridge, at the time carrying Upton Road over the Maple River. The grist mill operated for a number of years, going through multiple owners.

In 1901, Duplain Township voted to allocate money to replace the Upton Road bridge. The Detroit Bridge & Iron Works was contracted to build the steel superstructure of the bridge for $2,590. With planking, abutments, and labor, the total cost of the bridge was $3,228.57. In 1912, the current earth-and-concrete Elsie Mill Pond dam was constructed, replacing the 1865 timber version. The mill continued operating until 1950. In 1953, the building was remodeled and reopened as a feed and grain elevator. In 1966, a new Maple River crossing on Island Road was constructed, and the Upton Road bridge was closed to traffic. [4]

The mill burned in 1969, leaving only the foundation remnants seen today. In 1976, Duplain Township, with the assistance of the Elsie Lions Club, turned the area into a park. [4]

Description

The Grist Mill site is located on the Maple River. The Upton Road Bridge spans the river, approximately sixty feet west of the dam. The mill site is located directly on the southern bank of the river, about 75 feet east of the dam. [4] Duplain Township owns the site and maintains it as a park. [5]

Upton Road Bridge

The Upton Road bridge is a single-span steel Parker truss bridge with pinned connections, sitting on concrete abutments. It spans 160 feet and is 16 feet wide. The deck consists of wooden planks laid atop the steel stingers, with wooden paving blocks on top, and a final layer of asphalt. [4]

Grist Mill Dam

The Grist Mill Dam is approximately 150 feet long and twelve to fifteen feet high. The main body of the dam is constructed from rock and earth-fill, and a concrete cap and spillway is placed on top. The spillway spans the entirety of the dam, and empties onto a nearly flat concrete apron five to seven feet in wide, and then onto a lower spillway. Concrete abutments are built at each end of the dam. [4]

Kellogg Bros. & Johnson Grist Mill Site

The site of the former grist mill contains a rubble fieldstone retaining wall, along with foundation walls of the mill and millrace. The mill foundation is in an L-shape, with walls 75 to 85 feet long on the longer side, and twenty feet in the shorter. The walls range up to 15 feet in height. There is also evidence of two flumes running from the mill pond to the mill. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingsley Covered Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Kingsley Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge carrying East Street across the Mill River in Clarendon, Vermont. Built about 1870, it is the town's only surviving 19th-century covered bridge. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Richmond Swing Bridge</span> United States historic place

The New Richmond Swing Bridge, also known as the Fifty-Seventh Street Bridge, is a one lane swing bridge in Michigan. Located in Allegan County's Manlius Township, it connected 57th Street with Old Allegan Road over the Kalamazoo River until its closure to vehicular traffic. The name New Richmond comes from a former mining town in the area of the same name. The bridge is one of the oldest - if not the oldest - swing bridges extant in the United States, and is one of the oldest metal truss bridges in the state of Michigan and the state's longest pony truss bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ada Covered Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Ada Covered Bridge is a 125-foot (38 m) span Brown truss covered bridge erected in 1867 in Ada, Michigan, United States. Carrying Bronson Street across the Thornapple River, it is located just south of where the Thornapple enters the Grand River, in turn just south of M-21. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starr Mill Road Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Starr Mill Road Bridge is a historic bridge in Middletown, Connecticut. It is a single span Warren through truss bridge, spanning the Coginchaug River near the Starr Mill complex on the west bank of the river. Built in 1927 by the Berlin Construction Company, it is one of a shrinking number of period metal truss bridges in the state. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. It is closed to all forms of passage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fallasburg Bridge</span> Bridge in Lowell, Michigan

Fallasburg Bridge is a 100-foot (30 m) span Brown truss covered bridge, erected in 1871 in Vergennes Township, Michigan, United States, 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Lowell on the Flat River. Carrying Covered Bridge Road across the Flat, it is located in the Fallasburg Historical District south of Whites Bridge and Smyrna. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and along with Whites Bridge, Langley Covered Bridge, and Zehnder's Holz Brucke, is one of only four Michigan covered bridges open to vehicle traffic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grist Mill Covered Bridge</span> Bridge in Cambridge, Vermont

The Grist Mill Covered Bridge, also known as the Scott Covered Bridge, the Bryant Covered Bridge, and the Canyon Covered Bridge, is a covered bridge that carries Canyon Road across the Brewster River, off Vermont Route 108 in Cambridge, Vermont. Built in the 19th century, it is one of a small number of surviving Burr arch truss bridges in the state, and is one of three left in Cambridge. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackson Branch Bridge No. 15</span> United States historic place

The Jackson Branch Bridge No. 15, also known as the Tecumseh Railroad Bridge due to its close proximity to the city of Tecumseh, is a historic railway deck truss bridge that spans the River Raisin in rural Raisin Charter Township in Lenawee County, Michigan. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 4, 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waltz Road–Huron River Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Waltz Road–Huron River Bridge is an automobile bridge located on Waltz Road spanning the Huron River in Huron Township, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War Eagle Bridge</span> United States historic place

The War Eagle Bridge is a historic bridge in War Eagle, Arkansas, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parker Road–Charlotte River Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Parker Road–Charlotte River Bridge, also known as the 10 Mile Road–Charlotte River Bridge, is a bridge building located on Parker Road over the Charlotte River in Bruce Township, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell Road Bridge</span> NRHP-listed bridge in United States

The Bell Road Bridge is a Pratt through truss bridge in Dexter Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan. Built in 1891, the bridge carried Bell Road over the Huron River. From 1997 to 2018, the bridge sat on the riverbank, overgrown with brush. The bridge is a Michigan State Historic Site and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delhi Bridge</span> Bridge

The Delhi Bridge, also known as the East Delhi Bridge, is a one-lane, wrought iron Pratt through truss bridge that carries East Delhi Road over the Huron River in Washtenaw County, Michigan. The bridge was completed October 12, 1883 to replace a wooden span built in 1851. In 1917, the bridge was severely damaged by a tornado but was rebuilt. After it was closed to traffic in 2005 for being unsafe, the bridge was renovated and reopened in 2009. The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stony Creek Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Stony Creek Bridge is a bridge located on a private road over Stony Creek in Olive Township, Clinton County, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. It is the last example of a queen post truss bridge extant in Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green River Crib Dam</span> United States historic place

The Green River Crib Dam is a historic 19th-century dam on the Green River in western Guilford, Vermont. Built about 1811, it is a reminder of the modest industrial enterprises once conducted in the area using the water power it provided, and is one of the state's few surviving crib dams. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crystal Springs Street–Dowagiac River Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Crystal Springs Street–Dowagiac River Bridge is a road bridge that carries Crystal Springs Street over the Dowagiac River near Sumnerville, Michigan. It was installed in that location in 2017. Between 1938 and 2016, the bridge was located approximately 50 miles away, and carried M-86 over the Prairie River near Nottawa, Michigan, and was known then as the M-86–Prairie River Bridge. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000, and is the last remaining camelback pony truss bridge used on the state trunkline system in Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stancer Road–North Coldwater River Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Stancer Road–North Coldwater River Bridge is a road bridge carrying Stancer Road over the North Coldwater River in Union Township, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. It is an excellent example of a pinned overhead Pratt truss bridge, which was once common in Michigan but is now quite rare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Road Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Martin Road Bridge is a former road bridge which carried Martin Road across the Shiawassee River in Caledonia Township near Corunna. It was one of the oldest metal through truss highway bridges in Michigan, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. As of 2016, the bridge has been removed from its original site, and will be restored and reassembled at the Auburn Valley State Park in Yorklyn, Delaware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parshallburg Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Parshallburg Bridge, also known as the Ditch Road Bridge, was a bridge that originally carried Ditch Road over the Shiawassee River near Oakley, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. It was the only known Thacher through truss bridge in Michigan, and one of only a few remaining in the nation. In 1999, the bridge was moved to a new location, and in 2008 was washed off its piers and destroyed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gugel Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Gugel Bridge, also known as the Beyer Road – Cass River Bridge, is a bridge carrying Beyer Road over the Cass River in Frankenmuth Township, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. It is the only remaining example in Michigan of a bridge with both a pony truss span and a main through truss span.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyme–East Thetford Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Lyme–East Thetford Bridge is a historic bridge over the Connecticut River between Lyme, New Hampshire, and East Thetford, Vermont. From the New Hampshire side it carries East Thetford Road, which becomes Vermont Route 113 as it enters Vermont. A Parker truss bridge completed in 1937, it is 471 feet (144 m) long. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.

References

  1. Misty Miller (July 17, 2015), GRIST MILL BRIDGE, DAM AND MILL SITE NEAR ELSIE ADDED TO THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES, Michigan State Historic Preservation Office
  2. Upton Road Bridge, historicbridges.org
  3. WEEKLY LIST OF ACTIONS TAKEN ON PROPERTIES: 6/01/15 THROUGH 6/05/15, National Park Service, archived from the original on June 15, 2015
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R.O. Christensen (December 2014), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Grist Mill Bridge, Dam, and Mill Site (PDF)
  5. Tom Thelen (August 5, 2015), "Elsie-area mill site added to national historic registry", Lansing State Journal

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Grist Mill Bridge, Dam and Mill Site at Wikimedia Commons