Clifton Mill
Greene Co. | Ohio | USA
Watersource: Little Miami River
Clifton Mill
Travel 8 miles NE of Xenia, Oh. on US 42 to Cedarville, then north on Oh 72 for 4 miles to Clifton, turn left on Water Street just past the Clifton Gorge bridge, the mill is on the left at 75 Water St.
Owen Davis built the first grist mill on this Little Miami River Gorge site 20 miles SW of the headwaters of the stream in 1815. The site was chosen to take advantage of the natural power existant in the concentrated water funneled into the rocky gorge. The Davis-Clifton Mill burned in 1840, to be replaced a year later with the Patterson Mill, built by John Patterson. The Patterson Mill lasted only about 25 years, before succumbing also to conflagration. Patterson was also influencial in the beginnings of the NCR Company in Dayton, a few miles to the west.
The third and present mill was built by 1869 and operated for 20 years by the Armstrong family. In 1889, Isaac Preston began 4 generations of ownership and milling, ending in 1948, when the mill ceased operations. Once five other mills shared the rocky gorge area within a mile of the Clifton Mill. These were a linen mill, paper mill, saw mill, barrel mill, and another flour mill.
Clifton actually, as with many early mill towns, grew up around the mills, the main center of industry and commerce. The mill is essentially 6 stories tall, with 2 levels below the gorge rim and 4 levels above. The lower level houses the turbine which supplies power for the operation, while the upper stories contain the milling equipment and storage area.
The deteriorating mill, the only mill of the six early mills still surviving, was restored in 1962 to function on water power by Robert Heller. The mill was functioning from 1963 to the present, thanks to Mr. Heller and his wife. The mill is, today 2005, run by the Satariano family in an effort to preserve a beautiful, historical piece of property in such a way as to still make a living from the process.
*Update: Clifton Mill, while no longer active, is scenic and historic. We felt it well worth our visit. We understand that it is especially beautiful when lighted at the Christmas season. Cerelle Bolon 01/20/2008*
Check the official mill website above for details about history, facilities, and hours of operation. *Info: Harry Hill and the the web site*