White’s Mill in Athens, Ohio offers a diverse variety of gardening and yard care supplies, animal feed and artistic pieces (Credit: Ken Drenten).

By Ken Drenten

White’s Mill is one of two mills remaining along the Hocking River in Ohio. The original mill at the site was established in 1809 by Silas Bingman, who built the structure with a massive cut sandstone foundation.

Joseph Herrold bought the mill in 1840; he and his sons operated the business through the early 1900s. The mill was destroyed by a flood in 1884 but was placed back in operation by the following year.

Ed White purchased the mill in 1911, but a devastating fire destroyed it in 1912. Three years later, White dismantled another mill originally built in 1855 in Dyesville in Meigs County and rebuilt it at the Athens County site.

White’s sons Erskine and Gamaliel “Whitey” White began operating the mill in 1936, continuing to produce buckwheat flour, corn meal and animal feed. The mill’s dam was damaged by floods in 1961 and repaired. A mid-1970s flood damaged the dam again and this time it was not repaired.

Today’s White’s Mill is a nursery, garden and yard care supplies and feed store with a decidedly artistic side. Mike and Meg Toomey purchased the mill in 1994 and sold it in 2016 to longtime employees Rodney Dowler and Tyler Schloss. Dowler and Schloss are continuing the tradition begun by the Toomeys and have renovated the mill and added to its inventory.

Many types of bulk feed products are produced and bagged, and they also sell corn meal and buckwheat flour ground elsewhere.

Customers can find a wide selection of live plants and trees, flowers, herbs, lawn care and gardening supplies, flower and vegetable seeds and supplies. Outdoor art is a specialty at White’s Mill, including Athens Block art pottery, glazed clay artwork, wind chimes, outdoor furniture and more.

White’s Mill takes pride in offering local artists’ and craftspeoples’ work, including high-quality turquoise and Native American jewelry and artistic items from both local and Southwestern U.S. artisans.

White’s Mill is located at 2 Whites Mill Drive in Athens, at the junction of SRs 56 and 682 on the Hocking River just west of midtown Athens. Phone: (740) 592-1251. Find more mills in Ohio in Dusty Tires.

Ken Drenten is creator and editor of Dusty-Tires.com, a travel blog for out-of-the-ordinary places in Ohio.

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