Indian Mill illustration   Save
Ohio History Connection Archives/Library
Description: Illustration of Indian Mill, near Upper Sandusky, Ohio, 1879. Caption reads "The Indian Mill. Isaac Mann, Prop'r [Proprietor]. Situated 2 1/2 miles N.E. of Upper Sandusky, on the Sandusky Riv." Indian Mill, built in 1861, now serves as the nation's first educational museum of milling housed in its original structure. The restored three-story structure replaces the original one-story building that the U. S. government built in 1820 to reward the loyalty of local Wyandot Indians during the War of 1812. When the War of 1812 came to an end, Wyandot Indians settled and concentrated their nation near modern-day Upper Sandusky. Along with them was a group of African Americans—both free blacks and escaped slaves—who also settled nearby. The two groups worked together farming and managing the land, and part of this intermingling led to some of the Wyandots accepting Christianity, which in turn led to limited perks granted by the federal government. One of those perks was money to build a mill. In 1820, a flour mill and sawmill were both constructed on the banks of the Sandusky River. These mills provided important services for the Wyandot farmers as well as the blacks living in the area. They were able to process their harvests and turn logs into timber to build their homes. However, under pressure from many white settlers that lived in the area surrounding the Wyandot reservation, the federal government finally decided to permanently remove the Wyandots from Ohio. Several years later, the last of the Wyandots left the area. Settlers destroyed most remnants of their culture, including homes and churches, and even the Wyandot headstones in local cemeteries. The mill fell into disrepair and was abandoned. Some years later, the flour mill was re-built on the present site by Lewis Rummel. He used 3 Leffel turbines in his new mill. The mill has been owned by various people over the years and was purchased by the Ohio History Connection in 1968. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: A912_771_W97h_IndianMill
Subjects: American Indians in Ohio; Mills and mill-work--Ohio; Wyandot Indians--History; Wyandot County (Ohio); Agriculture;
Places: Upper Sandusky (Ohio); Wyandot County (Ohio)