Restoration Plan

Many visitors to the Cedar Point Mill over the last twenty or thirty years have walked away, feeling that it could not be saved. Our restoration team believes otherwise, but it will not be easy. Significant structural issues must be resolved before restoration can begin. Once the structural issues have been addressed, restoring the mill will be relatively systematic. This website will be updated as we progress and the restoration plan evolves.

The restoration will focus on the original stone structure completed in 1875. The wood and tin addition from 1903 has been removed. In so doing the impressive south face of the stone structure not seen by the public since 1903 has been revealed. The cut stone façade with the 1875 Drinkwater &Schriver keystone at the top was hidden for 112 years bv the 1903 granary.  Over the entrance is a cut stone header with the words “Wyoming Mills”, which was apparently used as a marketing name for the mill when it first began operations. Research is ongoing as to what significance that mysterious name has to the mill. The south façade reminds visitors of other Chase County limestone structures, including the iconic Chase County Court House.

By removing the 1903 addition, the scope of the project has been reduced significantly. It permits the team to focus on the essential elements of the mill: a classic Chase County limestone exterior with an elegant interior, which will provide an excellent venue where the mill’s story can be told.

The completed structure will house a museum demonstrating the elegant simplicity of a grist mill, which is really a laboratory well suited to the study of physics. The river’s current powers the system of pulleys and belts, which run the augers to send the grain to the top of the mill and a system of wooden chutes allow gravity to send the cleaned and separated grain back down to ground level, where it is ground into flour and bagged for shipping to mill customers around the country.

The ultimate objective for the mill is that it become an historic site, welcoming visitors to the mill with guided tours on the inside, and a parklike setting along the river surrounding the mill. There are few places on earth more tranquil than sitting on a river bank listening to water falling over a dam. Having an iconic, elegant structure to appreciate as you enjoy this bucolic setting puts the icing on the cake. The mill will also house a small gift shop, selling books and souvenirs celebrating grist mills, Chase County and this wonderful mill.