Local Video
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| Neuhaus hopes to publish mill history |
By: MAGGIE LEE, Staff Writer
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Posted: Wednesday, December 30, 2009 12:29 am
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NORTHFIELD — Tom Neuhaus, who has devoted his spare time for many years to visiting historic mills in Minnesota and learning their history, hopes to publish “Mill Hunters’ Guide to Minnesota” in the near future. He has traced the history of mills from 1821 to 1930, from the sawmill at Fort St. Anthony (later renamed Fort Snelling) to the closing of the Easton flour mill.
He has not included the mills in Hennepin and Ramsey counties (the Twin Cities area) as those histories have already been published. But the historic flour and saw mills in the other 85 counties of Minnesota are included, their histories, the material from which they were built and a list of their equipment. There is also a glossary of terms important to the milling industry — such words as run of stone, bed stone, cap mill, damsel, muley saw.
Neuhaus said that his interest in mills can be traced back to his childhood when his mother, the late Marge Neuhaus, took him to see the Flugel Mill south of Rochester. She wrote the histories of some of the mills. Tom’s brother Bob has shared his interest in mills. And so has his wife, Barbara, who grew up in Lonsdale.
Tom has begun his book with, “When Minnesota was young and the territory belonged to the Indians —this was in the year 1820 — what was about to happen was a big rush of human souls converging to the west of the mighty Mississippi River. They came from all parts of the world to help build what was to be known as the flour and lumber milling industry.
“The Indians of the area were not very happy that the white man was moving in on their land. The Indians knew that once it started, it was not going to stop and they weren’t far from the truth.
“First came the Army and they built a fort where the two rivers come together. It was called Fort St. Anthony and the Indians watched it grow and knew that this was the start of something big. In 1821 the first sawmill on the river was built out of the standing timber that was close to the river.
“During this time they had to wait for supplies — such as flour and salt — to come up the river by steam boat and sometimes it took up to a month for the boat to arrive. In the spring of 1823 the first set of stones arrived by boat for a mill so they could grind their own flour. They used corn and it was a little hard to chew, but they had bread the year around and they put up with it.”
Tom continued, “A great many of the Minnesota mills are still standing today. This is the prime example of the dedication of the people who want this part of history to remain alive. The younger generation of today will have something to show their children, saying ‘Your great grandparents helped build what today is taken for granted.’”
Tom concluded, “Every mill that still stands today should be preserved in its natural setting for all people to see. This book is dedicated to the people that are keeping this part of history alive.”
Incidentally, Tom’s mother was for some time a writer for the Northfield News. She wrote “Do You Remember” for several years.
TOM NEUHAUS
AGE: 62
OCCUPATION: Operated a courier service
WHY HE LIKES MILLS: When he was a kid, his mother took him to see an old mill. He’s been fascinated by them ever since.
—Reach Maggie Lee at 507-645-1119. |
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