Pickwick Mill – Pickwick (Homer Township)
One of Minnesota’s oldest waterpower gristmills, the Pickwick Mill operated for more than 120 years. The Mill was built in 1854 by Thomas Grant and Wilson Davis out of locally-quarried limestone. Its timber-frame structure was so closely fitted that nails were not used. Constructed as a combined gristmill and sawmill, the mill ran twenty-four hours a day during the Civil War, producing 100 barrels of flour daily for the Union Army. After the war it became a flour-milling center for much of the tri-state area. It was converted to feed milling after World War I and remained in operation until 1978. Initially retrofitted with a flat plank roof, it has been restored with a gable roof reminiscent of the original design. The Pickwick Mill represents one of the state’s best restored pre-railroad industrial sites and was restored through the dedicated efforts of the Pickwick Mill, Inc., which operates the property as a historic site.
