A photo of the partially restored old Red Bird Mill built by George Woodham and two of his sons in 1876 on Cedar Creek, about 3.5 miles upstream of the confluence with the Lewis River. The dam was damaged the first winter by swift flowing debris, causing the Woodhams to give up and vacate the mill site, lock, stock and equipment.

The mill sat idle for 7 years until it was leased by the new owner, Mike Lynch, to Gustave Utter. A log dam was constructed across the narrow, rocky gorge about 80' upstream. A flume was built to convey water to the mill and a Leffel turfine installed to convert the waterpower to mechanical power to grind wheat and other grain for the farmers that had settled in the area.

The flume on the upper left of photo paralleling the all season creek. The mill was up and running for 13 years while Washington was still a territory; the state becoming the 42nd state of the Union on Nov. 11, 1889.

The mill passed to Gorund Roslund in 1905; Utter not able to make a profit any longer, even adding the cash from the raising of hogs. With logging going strongly, Roslund added a shingle mill to the rear and a machine shop was the new function of the mills lower story. Later a blacksmith shop was added onto the end toward the covered bridge. All these new uses were powered by water from Cedar Creek utilizing the turbine. The machine shops operator, Victor Roslund, died in the late 1950's and after that the property sat idle and deteriorated.

The Fort Vancouver Hist. Soc. leased the property, and along with the state fish & game agency, provided some essential repairs, eliminated the dam and installed a fish ladder. "The Friends of the Cedar Creek Grist Mill" was formed in early to mid 1980's. The mill was restored from The late 1980's into the mid 1990's. A new covered bridge was built in 1994 to replace the old covered bridge that had lost its roof and siding in an effort to forestall total replacement sometime in the mid 1900's. The Cedar Creek Grist Mill National Historic Site today is a working museum. For more information about the mill, check out the website listed above. The mill is the oldest building in Washington State that is still used for the purpose for which it was built.

The newly completed restoration of the mill and the existing covered bridge. *Update: A buhr mill that was originally used in Howard's Grist Mill, Mulino, Oregon is currently in use at the Cedar Creek Grist Mill. Jeffrey Berry 01/19/2010*

Mortise and tenion detail of post and beam construction of the new additions. Notice the wooden pegs used as nails to hold the joint together.

George Fountain, current President of the Friends of Cedar Creek Grist Mill standing by the hopper and grindstone assembly of the mill manufactured by Joseph Wagener & Co.

George Fountain grinding some grain into flour at the mill.

The mill and bridge complex after a winter skiff of snow.

Cedar Creek Mill Covered Bridge with the sun's ray filtering through the trees.

Workman shaping a beam with a large chisel.

A beam with a tenion projection lying atop a beam with a mortise slot cut into it to receive just such a tenion.

Hand plane used to shape down the area that received the motise slot, to give a perfect fit.

The completed mill with the newly completed blacksmith shop addition and another room on the opposite end. *Update: Some changes in Cr 16-name changed to Hayes Road becoming Cedar Creek Road. Jeffrey Berry 02/04/2010*