Photo courtesy of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University
Photo courtesy of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University
The plaque says, "Spanish Fork was settled in 1857. The first flour mill was built by Archibald Gardner in 1858-59. The water for the mill came from the Spanish Fork River. The stream was enlarged to give sufficient power to run the mill. This mill was constructed of rough lumber...
Gardner sold the mill to the Spanish Fork Co-op in 1874. Shortly after it was torn down, it was replaced by a larger, two-story building with more advanced equipment. This mill was built of shiplap lumber with gables facing north and south. The flumes carried water to the mill wheel, with a fall of twenty feet. Flour was made in the mill for fourteen years until April 15, 1888, when it burned to the ground, probably from spontaneous combustion.
Within a short time, a four-story brick building was started at a cost of $40,000. New machinery was installed, and large steel rollers replaced stone burrs. The new mill burned in December 1927. It was never rebuilt. Today nothing remains of the once busy whirring mill."
Like the plaque states, there is nothing where the old mill used to be located. The property is part of what is now the Spanish Fork fairgrounds. I have been meaning to go and watch the rodeo for the last few years. I've heard its a lot of fun. Also, probably the coolest festival, the Festival of Colors, happens just down the road from here at the Hari Krishna temple. Shuttles are provided from the Spanish Fork fairgrounds. The Festival of Colors celebrates the coming of spring and thousands of people gather to throw colored flour on each other. This years festival is bigger than ever (every year it gets bigger and bigger and more crazy than ever) and is happening Saturday, March 26th from 10 am-8pm and March 27th from noon-4 pm with color throwing happening every two hours. If you miss it, you will be really disappointed, especially cause all of your friends will have cool facebook profile pictures where they are covered in pink, green, and yellow dust. I can almost feel the suffocating taste of flour in the air as I am writing this.
This is a cool site, I too am fascinated with old things and really disappointed that some of these old buildings they don't rebuild like they do in Europe or on the east coast of the U.S.
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ReplyDeleteExcerpts from “The Life of Archibald Gardner” shows evidence that another mill was build in nearby Leland by my great grandfather Archibald Gardner--his last.
In a journal entry (1899) he said (p 138), “I am now in the eighty-fifth year of my age and am writing without “specks”. My hearing is good but the activity of my legs is gone. I expect to be through building canals and mills soon.”
But, during a fall 1898 visit to his children in Spanish Fork (p 132), he launched his last mill-building project: “You need another mill here,” he said to his son Neil. “Father we are being well supplied by the mill across the way. At your age (85) you shouldn’t be thinking of building another mill.”
“Neil, I would like you to drive me over to Leland so that I can look that location over.”
He was taken to Leland. Syrenus, and Pleasant Bradford accompanied him. He selected the mill site and a location for a mill race. Then he proceeded to interest a number of men in order to secure the necessary capital. He furnished some of the funds, but most of it was contributed by the following men: his son Syrenus, his sons-in-law Alma Andrus, and Joseph Francis, his step-son, Pleasant Bradford, Pleasant Bradford, Jr., Charles Bradford, Joseph Finch, Thomas Wimmer, and William Miles.
Construction of the race and building began in November 1898. Its completion was celebrated by a dance in the mill during the following February. When he as at the helm, a venture was pushed to completion with no loss of time.
He was a giant of a man. He died February 8, 1902 at age 87, following hernia surgery at St Marks Hospital in Salt Lake City (p 141). His final words were said to be “Here I go to solve the great mystery.”
(Compiled by Ronald Grant Francis, Jr., 3/29/2020)