The Neligh Mill is a water-powered flour mill in the city of Neligh in the northeastern part of the state of

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

. The mill was built in 1873 by John Neligh, the city's founder, to make use of water power from the

Elkhorn River The Elkhorn River is a river in northeastern Nebraska, United States, that originates in the eastern Sandhills and is one of the largest tributaries of the Platte River, flowing and joining the Platte just southwest of Omaha, approximately s ...

. It operated for nearly one hundred years until it closed in 1969. The

Nebraska State Historical Society History Nebraska, formerly the Nebraska State Historical Society is a Nebraska state agency, founded in 1878 to "encourage historical research and inquiry, spread historical information ... and to embrace alike aboriginal and modern history." I ...

maintains the mill complex and describes it as the only 19th-century mill in the state that still possesses all of the original equipment used when it was in operation. The mill is listed in 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 ...

History

John D. Neligh, founder of the Nebraska town of Neligh, began building the brick mill on the

in 1873. Another Neligh businessman, W. C. Gallaway, took over the mill and completed construction, including damming the Elkhorn River. A

water turbine A water turbine is a rotary machine that converts kinetic energy and potential energy of water into mechanical work. Water turbines were developed in the 19th century and were widely used for industrial power prior to electrical grids. Now, t ...

, which was positioned horizontally, powered the gear in the mill's basement. On August 29, 1874, the mill began operation, grinding wheat, corn, and buckwheat. In 1886 the mill converted from stone mill burrs to modern steel rollers. It provided flour and meal for customers across Nebraska, as well as the War Department and Indian Bureau. Improvements in the mill's turbines allowed it to generate electrical power for the town, supplying it until 1925.

Current museum

The Neligh Mill is now run by the Nebraska Historical Society as a museum commemorating the importance of flour mills to Nebraska and the West as a whole. Exhibits relating to the operation of the mill and its history are located in the original warehouse from 1866, as well as the 1915 addition where the power plant was once housed. The Society has restored the mill's office building, which has original furnishings. It reconstructed the 1919

flume A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to tr ...

to the south. The remnants of the dam that collected water for the mill are still visible on the Elkhorn River nearby.

Gallery

File:Old Neligh Mill.JPG, An old photograph of the Neligh Mill shows a thriving enterprise on the banks of the Elkhorn River. File:Old Print of Neligh.JPG, The Neligh Mill can be seen on the Elkhorn River in an old print of the town. File:Original Neligh Mill Stone.jpg, The Neligh Mill Museum displays one of the original stone burrs or millstones from its early years. File:Neligh Roller Mill.jpg, Don Ofe, the Site Administrator of the Neligh Mill, explains how a roller mill from 1888 grinds the wheat into flour.

References

* Buecker, Thomas, ''Flour Milling in Nebraska (Educational Leaflet Number 17)''. * Buecker, Thomas
Water Powered Flour Mills in Nebraska
* Ireland, Lynne, ed., ''The Neligh Mills Cookbook''. * Josephson, Jeannie,

in ''Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska: ANTELOPE COUNTY''. * Martin, Kent, ''Neligh Mill State Historic Site, A Self-Guided Tour''

External links

* {{authority control Historic sites in Nebraska Museums in Antelope County, Nebraska State parks of Nebraska Protected areas of Antelope County, Nebraska 1873 establishments in Nebraska National Register of Historic Places in Antelope County, Nebraska Grinding mills on the National Register of Historic Places in Nebraska Industrial buildings completed in 1873 History Nebraska