Taking in historic tours brings one to mills in Missouri. Many of the preserved mills, mostly no longer operational, were centers of former towns. Using water, of which Missouri has tons, mills grind grains like wheat into flour with hydropower. Flour was such a food staple in the past that towns were often centered around the mill and a general store. There are so many themed tours one could take in this state (food, wineries, town squares, haunted buildings, rivers, springs, lakes) and every once in while, I find myself at another mill.
Alley Spring Mill is located just outside of Eminence, Missouri along the Jacks Fork River. It was built in 1894 and a community sprung up around it. My tour was in mid-July. I saw the old schoolhouse from a distance as it was closed. After batting away a swarm of gnats and having an informative chat with a friendly ranger, I walked through the striking, red mill and saw machinery from a gated walkway. Upper levels of the mill were closed due to Covid restrictions. My short tour brought me onto a deck overlooking the aqua spring.
There’s a neat little walk around the spring from the back of the mill called the Spring Branch Trail and it’s short, mostly flat and has great views of the flowing spring waters and mill. The varying shades of blue and green against the backdrop of trees and mill are worth the walk. The ranger told us about a video, still on Youtube, shot by divers who surveyed over 3,000 feet of Alley Spring (at an average depth of 155′). Looking it up back at home, it was hard to believe how big of an underwater world existed under the park.
The mill and spring are just a small part of Alley Spring National Park which has 795 acres to explore and I can’t wait to go back for camping (with many amenities), canoeing, hiking and tubing. It was hot the day we visited and there were happy looking people in the river, a short walk down from the mill. While many campers were around, it didn’t seem so packed that it would take away from the overall peace and nature of the park.
Alley Mill and the Jacks Fork and Current Rivers appear on a medallion for a hiking stick to represent the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. The iconic mill also appears on the 2017 Ozark National Scenic Riverways quarter.
The second trail we took, Overlook Trail, was a bit more of a challenge in the heat. It went up and up for a bit longer than I expected, but did have a great view at the top. Had I planned to walk it, I would have had shorts instead of jeans, better shoes and water. It came down onto a dirt road, and we crossed back over the river on a cool, old bridge. It had wooden beams for driving on that ran the length of the bridge’s deck. The added wood could be replaced after wear and tear, and leave the bridge intact. A short walk to the parking lot and we gladly drank water and welcomed the AC on the way home.
