Saw and Grist Mills

John Mills and his son Martin ran a sawmill and a flour mill off a single waterwheel. They began the mill race in March 1855, cutting a channel to draw power from the Provo River, and had the sawmill going by July 1856, its first logs squared into lumber for a growing town. A two-story frame gristmill followed by the late 1850s, grinding its first corn in December 1861 and refined flour the next year. The same wheel that turned the saw turned the millstones — a tidy piece of frontier economy, one river doing two jobs at once.

What the plaque says

85 feet north, 145 feet east of this site John Mills and his son, Martin W. built a sawmill in 1855. First logs were sawed July 13, 1856. In the late 50’s they erected a grist mill which was a square frame two-story building. The first corn was ground Dec. 15, 1861, and refined flour in 1862. A mill race was commenced March 26, 1855 to divert water from Provo River for power. Both mills were run by the same water-wheel. This is the original grinding stone.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Bridal Veil Falls — 6.9 mi
  A dramatic double waterfall cascading 607 feet into Provo Canyon
• Sundance Mountain Resort — 11 mi
  Robert Redford's intimate, arts-minded ski resort on the slopes of Mount Timpanogos, in the North Fork of Provo Canyon.
• Aspen Grove — 11 mi
  The mountain-base trailhead for Mount Timpanogos and Stewart Falls
• Alpine Loop Summit — 11 mi
  The 8,000-foot high point of the Alpine Loop, face to face with Mount Timpanogos

More markers nearby

• Utah Lake Fishing Industry — 0.7 mi
• George A. Smith Provo Pioneer Village- Living in the Frontier 1849 to 1872 in Utah County — 0.7 mi
• Brigham Young Statue — 0.7 mi
• First Tabernacle — 0.7 mi