George Washington McCaskill built the current mill as a merchant mill using a 35" Leffel turbine as the springs power-capturing device. John Knott bought the mill and springs in an 80 acre parcel in 1902. He added a store and blacksmith shop and added corn meal to be ground as well as wheat. This fact, that the mill was designed for wheat flour production using rollers; while the area served was primarily a corn growing locale, corn being ground at that time usually with runs of stones, was a major engineering flaw that precipitated the mills demise as a economical enterprise.

Four more ownership transfers occurred in the next few years; the last being the creation of the Crystal Springs Town Site, brought about by Conrad Hug's purchase of much of the surrounding area and the mill and spring proper. The resort designed for city folk as a retreat didn't last long. Logging had stripped the hills, resulting in the railroads pulling out and much of the population also. Hug sold 400+ acres to the newly formed Missouri State Parks System and the park opened in 1925. It became part of the National Park Service in 1971 and now part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, administered by the NPS.

Alley Spring Mill is built at the former Barksdale Spring, now known as Alley Spring, the name changed when John Alley settled in the area. The average flow from the spring is 84 million gal/day or 130 cfs. A one time peak flow was recorded on April 22, 1974 of 1.7 billion gal or 2750 cfs. The opening and closing of the fins on the turbine controls the flow through the mill, although the spring flow remains fairly constant.

The mill was unpainted at first, then painted white with green trim. In 1940, much to the dismay of the townspeople, the mill was painted red; becoming known from thereafter also as the Red Mill. The grounds contains the store and Storey's Creek one-room school that was moved to the site from its original location. The mill is open 10:00 to 4:30 daily Memorial Day through Labor Day. No admission charge.

The spring that feeds the mill.

*Update: Roller Mills - Grain was placed into hoppers where it was rolled by steel rollers. The equipment was powered by a turbine down in the spring.

The mill is still somewhat operational. The turbine still runs as does the roller portion of the mill on the first floor. The upstair equipment where the grain was separated does not work. I actually saw the mill run on Sept. 6, 2008. I am including a few pictures from inside the mill. Some dates, 1887 and 1888, on the equipment.

Photo of the mill running. Notice that you can't see the spokes of the wheel. This is because I used a 1 second exposure to blur the spokes as the mill was running.

Swing sifter on the second floor. Notice how the socks at bottom are all rotted or worn out. Kevin Ferguson 09/14/2008*