The Bristow Milling Co. located at 4721 Water St, Bristow, IN 47515, ph: (812) 843-5176. Bristow Milling Company was the life blood of the small town of Bristow, incorporated 1875, (formerly known as Slabtown).

Farmers from Perry and Spencer Counties would market their grain and have their feed ground at Bristow Milling Co. The town was named Bristow in honor of John James Bristow.

The slabs from the local sawmill were used to make roads early-on, hence the early name for the town.

Fire destroys the century-old business and landmark on Wednesday morning, July 20, 2007 at the Bristow Milling Company on Highway 145 in Bristow, Indiana.Firefighters responded around 10:30 am, Wednesday, but it was hours before the owner could find out how much of the building he could salvage.

At first, owner Matt Esarey thought he had put the fire out with an extinguisher, but it quickly re-ignited.Mr. Esarey, owner of the Bristow Milling Company, says, "The fire department was here and probably within 30 to 45 seconds it just took off and was completely ablaze."Firefighters from four departments battled it with ladder trucks, but it took about five hours before the fire completely burned itself out.Esarey says from what he can tell, it looks like a bearing in the wooden leg of the grain elevator overheated.

Because the mill was nearly three quarter of a century old, Matt was never able to insure the property for what he felt it was worth. He would really like to rebuild his business, but doesn't think he'll be able to restore the mill to what it was.The good news is a fire wall kept the fire contained to one end of the mill. The bad news is, that end is where all the work was done. He hopes insurance money will at least allow him to start up a smaller operation.

Matt Esarey, said, "We can still do the bag feed. We sell bag feed. We can still do all that. We'll just keep plugging away and see what comes of it."Matt hopes his customers will be patient while he tries to restore a piece of history. After 7 years, it appears as though Mr. Esarey wasn't able to rebuild; but the bag feed sales is still viable.

The Middle Fork Anderson River, flowing behind the mill. Not known if the early mill was water-powered, but, the necessary resources were and still are, available

The Bristow Milling Company, which first opened its doors in 1890, but was rebuilt in 1935 after a fire destroyed the mill, and then again in 2007. The Bristow Milling Company has sold custom feed and farm supplies in Perry County since its inception in 1890. Matt Esarey has owned the mill for the last decade.

GPS: 38° 8.36' N 86° 43.24' W ele 417’/127 meters Jasper Quadrangle