Bear's Mill is a historic

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

near the city of Greenville in

Darke County Darke County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,881. Its county seat is Greenville. The county was created in 1809 and later organized in 1817. It is named for William Darke, an officer in the ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Built in 1849, this

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

is the oldest existing industrial building in Darke County. Built by Manning Hart,Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 1.

St. Clair Shores St. Clair Shores is a suburban city bordering Lake St. Clair in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms a part of the Metro Detroit area, and is located about northeast of downtown Detroit. Its population was 59,715 at the 2010 ce ...

: Somerset, 1999, 301. a local

contractor A contractor is a person or company that performs work on a contract basis. The term may refer to: Business roles * Defense contractor, arms industry which provides weapons or military goods to a government * General contractor, an individual o ...

, the mill lies along Greenville Creek in southwestern Adams Township, midway between Greenville and the village of Gettysburg. It was purchased before its completion by

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

n Gabriel Bear, who completed and opened the mill in 1849. After his locally made

millstone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...

s proved faulty, Bear travelled to France, where he acquired stones of a type regarded worldwide as of highest quality. The mill is a wooden building with a stone

foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

and a metal roof.,

Ohio Historical Society Ohio History Connection, formerly The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and Ohio Historical Society, is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885. Headquartered at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio History Connect ...

, 2007. Accessed 2010-08-13. It remained in continuous operation for well over a century, slowing from full capacity only in the late 1970s when the miller decided to go into partial retirement. Since then, the mill has continued in use: partially as a milling

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

, and partially as a gristmill. In 1975, it was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, qualifying because of its architecture and because of its significance in Ohio's history. Today, the mill is operated by the Friends of Bear's Mill, a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

dedicated to maintaining and operating the mill as a historic landmark.Friends of Bear's Mill
, Bear's Mill, n.d. Accessed 2010-08-13.

References

External links

Official website
{{NRHP in Darke County, Ohio Industrial buildings completed in 1849 Flour mills in the United States Grinding mills in Ohio History museums in Ohio Industry museums in Ohio Mill museums in the United States Museums in Darke County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Darke County, Ohio Grinding mills on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Technology museums in Ohio Watermills in the United States 1849 establishments in Ohio