Schech's Mill is a historic mill in Houston County, Minnesota, United States. It is one of three watermills in Minnesota still operating solely with water power and the only one to have its original millstones. Built by John Blinn in 1876, it was purchased by a Minneapolis miller, Michael Schech who had emigrated from Bavaria, Germany. The mill produced cornmeal, rye buckwheat, wheat flour, graham flour, and whole wheat cereal, which was sold in Caledonia and Houston, Minnesota. Schech's Mill is unique in the state for retaining intact and operable machinery from the 1870s, after the middlings purifier had been introduced but before millstones were supplanted by roller mills.[2] In 1922, a concrete dam was built to replace the original wooden one.[3][4]
Schech Mill | |
 Schech's Mill in 2011 | |
   | |
| Nearest city | Caledonia, Minnesota |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43°40′2.1″N 91°34′50″W / 43.667250°N 91.58056°W |
| Built | 1875 |
| NRHP reference No. | 78001548[1] |
| Added to NRHP | January 31, 1978 |
Schech Mill is situated in the Driftless Area – a region of the American Midwest noted for its deeply carved river valleys.
Private tours of the mill can be arranged most summer weekends which include an authentic flour grinding demonstration.
References
edit- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ Frame III, Robert M. (1977-06-07). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory -- Nomination Form: Schech's Mill". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Nord, Mary Ann (2003). The National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota. Minnesota Historical Society. ISBN 0-87351-448-3.
- ^ "HISTORY. Built in 1876, read our mill's story". Schech's Mill. Retrieved 2007-11-12.
External links
edit
Media related to Schech's Mill at Wikimedia Commons- Official website
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. MN-41, "Schech's Mill, Beaver Creek State Park, La Crescent, Houston County, MN", 23 photos, 2 photo caption pages
