Pickwick Mill

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Pickwick Mill
Pickwick Mill aerial photo.jpg
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Location24813 County Road 7, Pickwick, Minnesota
Coordinates 43°58′49.4″N91°29′48.2″W / 43.980389°N 91.496722°W / 43.980389; -91.496722
Area1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1854
NRHP reference No. 70000314 [1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 22, 1970
Pickwick Mill.jpg

Pickwick Mill is a historic gristmill in the unincorporated community of Pickwick, Minnesota, United States, near the city of Winona. It was constructed in the mid-1850s and is now operated as a milling museum. Pickwick Mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 for having state-level significance in the themes of agriculture, architecture, and industry. [2] It was nominated for being one of southeast Minnesota's oldest surviving water-powered mills, serving as a key local industry in its day and a Winona County landmark to the present. [3]

Contents

Description

The six-story building was constructed from local limestone with a nail-less timber frame and a pitched roof. In 1907 a tornado ripped up the roof and top story, which the operators replaced with a flat plank roof. A more classically accurate pitched roof was restored in recent years. [4] The mill is powered by a 20-foot (6 m) water wheel. [5] Most of the mill's original machinery is still intact and operable. [3]

History

Pickwick Mill was built on the banks of Big Trout Creek by Thomas Grant and Wilson Davis. The mill's official website says it was constructed 1856–58, [4] though other sources give a construction date of 1854. [2] [6] The property's National Register nomination says it was built in 1854 as a grist- and lumber mill and converted to flour production in 1856. [3]

Pickwick Mill is one of the largest mills in Minnesota and was one of the first community businesses in the state. [6] During the American Civil War the mill ran non-stop, churning out 100 barrels of flour a day for the Union Army. [4]

Historic attraction

Pickwick Mill is now managed by Pickwick Mill Inc., a non-profit organization largely funded by grants. [4] [6] It is open for tours from May to October. [5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Pickwick Mill". Minnesota National Register Properties Database. Minnesota Historical Society. 2009. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Grossman, John (May 11, 1970). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form: Pickwick Mill". National Park Service. Retrieved July 5, 2015.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Pickwick Mill". Pickwick Mill Association. 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  5. 1 2 "The Historic Pickwick Mill". Explore Minnesota. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Pederson, Alyssa (July 16, 2010). "Pickwick Mill going strong". Winona Daily News. Winona, Minn. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
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