Dillard Mill Road

Trail Overview

Dillard Mill Road is a Crawford County gravel road that leads to the Dillard Mill State Historic Site, passing the settlement of Dillard, Missouri, resting along the scenic Huzzah Creek. The road is simple in nature, following a gravel pathway that resonates that this is the way this community has followed for generations to historic store, former school house, community cemetery, and lastly the parking lot to access the .3 mile walking trail to the historic Dillard Mill, that doubles as the landmark road that horse and buggy, later motor vehicles traversed in it's full-purpose hayday, but has since been restricted to pedestrian status, with exclusive ADA and admin use with a motor vehicle, that said the walk is worth it. The preserved gristmill that exists to the present day was completed in 1908, though before it, Wisdom Mill was built in 1850 and destroyed in 1895, both in the same spot along the Huzzah Creek. The Mill is hosted by local historians ready to give a guided tour of either the base floor for free, or all three floors for a small fee, of which both tours they will talk about the history and stories of the mill, as they engage it into full operation mode, where there is no lack of wonder and demonstration of the intelligent old ways our ancestors made due with what they had available to them, in this case the use of water power. Plan accordingly for how long you want to experience the mill, to its fullest, plan for 3 hours, for a shorter tour 2 hours, for a touch and go, 1 hour, so so worth it.

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Difficulty

Dillard Mill is given a 1/10 base rating, being a simple maintained gravel road, following the historic pathway the Dillard community follows along the Huzzah Creek, featuring at it's maximum, mild hills along the gravel track, with the typical gravel road complications of potholes, washboarding, and mounding in the road surface.

History

"Dillard Mill is the second mill structure at this site. Wisdom's Mill, the first mill built here, was constructed in the 1850s. A rock wall along Huzzah Creek was blasted open allowing the increased water flow to the mill needed for its operation. As a result, the creek changed its channel. Joseph Dillard Cottrell and his brother, James, later owned Wisdom's Mill from 1881 to 1889, years that brought many changes to the area. During the Cottrells' ownership of the mill, the small community grew with the establishment of a post office in 1887. It was also during this time that the community was named Dillard after Joseph Dillard Cottrell. In 1889, the Cottrells sold the mill to Andrew Jackson Mincher. The mill burned in 1895 during Mincher's ownership. Emil Mischke, an emigrant from present day Poland, purchased the mill property in 1900 and began construction of the present mill four years later. Using some of the hand-hewn timbers salvaged from Wisdom's Mill, Mischke built a 30-by-40-foot structure. Following plans developed by the Cornelius Mill Furnishing Co. of St. Louis for the interior of his mill, he installed steel roller mills instead of the more common buhr stones for grinding the wheat into flour. Another innovation he introduced was a turbine to power the mill. The new, modernized mill was completed in 1908. Mischke's sister, Mary, became a partner in the milling enterprise in February 1907, and they both worked hard to make the mill a success. Farmers from the surrounding hills and valleys came to have their grain ground at the mill. In 1917, Mary sold her portion of the mill back to her brother, and he remained the sole proprietor of the mill for several years. A decade later, the 66-year-old Mischke decided to send for a mail-order bride. His new bride, however, found it difficult to adjust to life in the rugged Ozarks and after only a few years persuaded Mischke to sell the mill and move to California. Lester Klemme became the new mill owner in 1930. In addition to milling livestock feed and flour, he decided to take advantage of the rustic Ozark landscape by starting Klemme's Old Mill Lodge. A guest could spend the night in one of the cabins Klemme built, fish or swim in the millpond, and eat at the Klemme table for only $7 a day. Klemme's age and a shift in the local economy from farming to mining brought about the shutdown of the mill in 1956. He continued to operate the lodge until the 1960s. In 1974, the L-A-D Foundation of St. Louis, a nonprofit organization, bought the property. In 1975, the foundation leased the mill and surrounding property to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to operate as a state historic site. Also on the property is a building that once housed a general store owned by Adam Wilhite. Today, the restored mill contains most of its original machinery. Two of the three steel roller mills, however, were donated for scrap metal during World War II. In 2005, the historic site acquired two roller mills similar to the ones that had been removed. Therefore, the site now has three roller mills working for the first time since the WWII era! Visitors can see the remaining machinery come to life during a tour of the mill. With the turn of a wheel, the mill begins to operate as it did years ago, grinding grain into flour. The sound of the water gushing over the dam outside the mill is replaced with the sounds of the belts and rollers turning. Tours of the mill are given year-round, although days and times vary by season." Historical write-up sourced from the Missouri State Park website, at https://mostateparks.com/page/54956/general-information

Technical Rating

Dillard Mill Road can be accessed by the following ride types:

• High-Clearance 4x4
• SUV