Fruit Valley Mill / Sides Mill / Green Valley Mill as it looked in October, 1992. The 30'X 75' structure includes the attached 30'X 35' miller's house and was built from 1768-1792 by Samuel Hawthorne (Harshorn), a Quaker, as the stone grist mill on 34 acres. Hawtorne's mill on the South branch of Little Beaver Creek replaced an earlier 1.5 story frame mill built in 1727 by Samuel Taylor. The attached stone miller's house and the attached frame saw mill on the opposite end were built sometime between 1792 and 1815, according to local tax records. The house front porch was added in the 1850's. *Thanks to Ross Padluck for UPDATE concerning dates and sizes of buildings, date of the fire and that the Hawthornes were Quakers-03/09/05*

John Martin was the owner in 1842, then Robert Evans, in 1853 Ben Gonder, and Samuel Sides in 1870. It was sold at sheriff's sale in 1873 to Thomas B. Franklin. Elam Troup, bought in 1885 and sold to Aldus Sides in 1903. The mill ceased operations in 1936 after owner/operator Aldus Sides was killed in an accident involving the water wheel.

This is a picture of the Mill house restored with an addition added in 2009 by the Hess family

This mill was one of a few in the country with the stone mill and stone miller's house attached to each other. Mill doors were on three side of the mill, even one on the gable end of the house section. The saw mill section was on the far end of the mill to the right, as was the mill pond about 70 yards uphill and to the east of the mill. The mill section burned on July 26, 1999 and the ruins were cleared away. The house end at the point of attachment was repaired. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th pictures depict the house after the mill was gone.

This picture is of the remaining house section about six months/year after photo #2. Vandals had ravished the abandoned mill house after it had been spruced up after the 1999 fire. Windows were broken, then boarded up.

Photo of small barn ruins behind the former house/mill in the woods. *Update: The Sides mill was just sold at auction July 14, 2005 to an Amishman for $450,000. The land it is on is not very suitable for farming. I just hope it gets taken care of as kids have really beaten it to nothing lately. The lady who owned it passed away last November. Last time I had spoken to her (the summer before) she had not even been to the mill since the fire. Needless to say it has been virtually abandonded, and consequently destroyed. I was in it about a month ago, all the windows & doors were smashed & all the plaster was ripped off the walls, it's such a shame. Ross 07/19/2005* Anyway, thanks for your time. if you ever hear anything about it, let me know. It will be interesting to see what happens now that there is a new owner.

*Update: There is remodeling taking place at Side's Mill. Herb Fisher Oct 2009*