Bear's Mill

Holly hocks outside the mill.

Last weekend we found ourselves in the car traversing the countryside once again. This time

traveling on the 671. We decided to head up to the 36 to visit a park we heard about and came across this mill instead.

Bear's Mill entrance.

 

This was a happy accident finding Bear's Mill.  Located in Darke County, outside of Greenville, Ohio on Arcanum-Bear's Mill road. The mill was built in 1849 by Gabriel Baer and is now a non-profit. It is one of the oldest water-powered working mills still in existence.

There are four floors to explore and it is a little dizzying for those of us with a problem of heights, especially the top most door that opens to air but it is well worth the climb. I loved the sloping wood floors, the antiques, the hand-hewn beams, just the feel of the building. There is also an art gallery with rotating exhibits and a gift store with all sorts of lovely kitchen and food items as well as stone ground products.

The gristmill is run by water from the Greenville creek just out back. There is a well maintained path that leads through the woods to the creek and to the dam pictured here. A separate millrace water way runs to the mill itself and is 800 feet long, 25 feet wide and 10 feet deep. It was hand dug by school children who were paid 50 cents a day.  A very nice deck overlook is here with a bench to look out over the water. There is also a memorial for the Vietnam vets who did not return from the war. It is located in a beautiful, tranquil spot in the woods.

They have a website and a calendar of events and artists that will be showing in the gallery. Just a lovely destination and one we will return to in the future. Perhaps when we go in search of that park on another day.