Schech's Mill is a historic mill in

Houston County, Minnesota Houston County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. At the 2020 census, the population was 18,843. Its county seat is Caledonia. Houston County is included in the La Crosse–Onalaska metropolitan statistical area. History The area c ...

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 ...

. It is one of three

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 ...

s in Minnesota still operating solely with water power and the only one to have its original

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. Built by John Blinn in 1876, it was purchased by a

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

miller, Michael Schech who had emigrated from

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The mill produced cornmeal, rye buckwheat, wheat flour, graham flour, and whole wheat cereal, which was sold in

Caledonia Caledonia (; ) was the Latin name used by the Roman Empire to refer to the part of Great Britain () that lies north of the River Forth, which includes most of the land area of Scotland. Today, it is used as a romantic or poetic name for all ...

and

Houston, Minnesota Houston is a city in Houston County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 997 at the 2020 census. History The community was named after Sam Houston, first president of the Republic of Texas. In 1852, William McSpadden platted the or ...

. Schech's Mill is unique in the state for retaining intact and operable machinery from the 1870s, after the

middlings purifier A middlings purifier is a device used in the production of flour to remove the husks from the kernels of wheat. It was developed in Minnesota by Edmund LaCroix, a French inventor hired by Cadwallader C. Washburn and George Christian of the Washbur ...

had been introduced but before millstones were supplanted by

roller mill Roller mills are mills that use cylindrical rollers, either in opposing pairs or against flat plates, to crush or grind various materials, such as grain, ore, gravel, plastic, and others. Roller grain mills are an alternative to traditiona ...

s. In 1922, a concrete dam was built to replace the original wooden one. Schech Mill is situated in the

Driftless Area The Driftless Area, a topographical and cultural region in the American Midwest, comprises southwestern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and the extreme northwestern corner of Illinois. Never covered by ice during the last ...

a region of the

American Midwest 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 ...

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

External links

* * * {{National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota 1876 establishments in Minnesota Grinding mills on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Flour mills in the United States German-American culture in Minnesota Historic American Engineering Record in Minnesota Mill museums in Minnesota Museums in Houston County, Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Houston County, Minnesota Watermills in the United States