White's Mill

White's Mill site was established in 1816. Captain Silas Bingman built the first mill with a massive cut sandstone foundation. Bingman constructed a 10-foot wooden dam at the mill site which supplied water to the wooden waterwheel.

Joseph Herrold bought the mill in 1840. Joseph and his sons operated the mill through the early 1900's. Joseph's son, Henry, rebuilt the dam in 1884-1885. It was destroyed in a flood. In 1895, turbines were installed and replaced the wooden waterwheel. The Herrold's did not operate the flourmill for several years. Ed White purchased the mill in 1911. The new owners installed $3,600 worth of new milling equipment. The fall of 1912 saw the mill at its height of prosperity. The mill's storage area was full with 4,000 bushes of grain and 100 barrels of flour. October 2, 1912, fire destroyed the entire complex leaving only the massive cut sandstone foundation that Captain Bingman had built in 1816, almost 100 years earlier. Ed White was not easily suppressed. He located a mill in Dyesville in Meigs County on Leading Creek. Ed White purchased the old Nathan Vale flourmill, dismantled it, numbered the parts, and reconstructed it at his location on the Hocking River. Ed White continued to run the mill. In 1936 his son's Gamaliel and Erskine took over the operation. The mill has remained a family business.

"The dam is attached to the mill on the south side of the Hocking River and extends partway across the river; a portion of the dam has been lost, so the remainder of the span consists of a foundation only. The dam is of log crib construction consisting of massive hewn logs notched to create a double walled crib tied together with more notched logs, the space between the walls being filled with debris of various sorts. The top was capped with concrete in the 20th century." (Andrews). In 1961, the dam was washed out and it was repaired within the year. In 1975, the dam was seriously damaged from floodwaters. It has not been repaired. The remnant wooden dam is quite impressive and is one of only a few examples of wooden dams left in the United States today.

The original mill structure that Ed White built consisted of two sections. The main flourmill is three stories and the attached building has two stories. These two sections rest on the sandstone foundation built by Captain Bingman which creates a full basement. Since Ed White's original construction in 1915, there have been some additions to the structure. In 1945, a turbine house was added on the riverside of the three-story section. In 1954, a concrete block storeroom and office was attached to the three-story section. A pole barn was attached to the two-story section in the 1970's.

White's Mill operates today as a garden and feed store. The interior of the historical building exhibits massive, hewn beams. The giant cut sandstone foundation can be witnessed from the other side of the Hocking River as can the remnant, log dam. The history of the old mill just makes the mill site all the more interesting. (Andrews; Garber)

DIRECTIONS: Athens County. Athens Township. At the intersection of S.R. 682 and S.R. 56 on the Hocking River just west of Athens.