Graue Mill
Encyclopedia
The Graue Mill is a water-powered grist mill that was originally erected in 1852. Now a museum, it is one of two operating water-powered gristmills in Illinois
(the other is the Franklin Creek Grist Mill). It is located on Salt Creek
in Oak Brook, Illinois
, owned by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
and operated by a nonprofit preservationist group.
, emigrated to the United States in the late 1840s. Changing his name to 'Frederick', he brought with him knowledge of the craft of waterwheel gristmilling. Settling in what was the farming village and early transportation hub
of Fullersburg, Illinois, formerly named Brush Hill, he and William Asche (whose brother-in-law, Henry Fischer, built a wind-powered grist mill in what is now Mount Emblem Cemetery
) and then filed claim in 1849 to a tract of damp, clay
-rich bottomland along the banks of Salt Creek that was home to a sawmill
that burned down the year before. Together they built a new sawmill. They together operated this mill for three years, until Graue decided to engage in the milling business on his own.
Digging ditches in the poorly-drained soil, he and his family recovered clay that could be used to make bricks. The Graues built a kiln on their farmstead, fired the bricks, and slowly raised the new structure and waterwheel into place from the on-site building materials. The mill went into operation in the summer of 1852.
The ditching and draining of the Graue Mill farmstead was typical of German-American settlement patterns in the Midwest in the 1840s and 1850s, as the thrifty
German emigrants found assets in tracts of land that had been left behind by earlier, English-speaking frontiersmen and women.
Frederick Graue could not build his entire mill from onsite materials. He bought four buhrstone
s that turned on water-driven axles to grind locally grown corn
and wheat
. Quarried in France
, the buhrstones, a type of millstone
, were carefully dressed by specially trained craftsmen so as to form two level, gritty surfaces that would pulverize the grain between them.
Graue and his family were Pietist Germans who opposed American slavery. The mill is one of three authenticated Illinois stops on the Underground Railroad
, the subversive movement that helped fugitive slaves escape from the American South to Canada
.
mill was restored by the Civilian Conservation Corps
in 1934-1943, and was opened to the public as a working historic site in 1951.
As DuPage County became urbanized in the second half of the 1900s, the mill's surroundings lost their agricultural context. The mill building itself, however, was honored as a survivor from Illinois post-frontier years. The Graue Mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1975, and was recognized as an Illinois Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1981. The mill has been periodically re-restored since 1943 to keep it in operating condition, including work completed in 2002.
The Graue Mill is located at 3800 S. York Road, on the banks of Salt Creek in Oak Brook, Illinois, and is surrounded by Fullersburg woods. It is currently open to the public and as of 2009 grinds grain which can be purchased at the site. Check the Graue Mill and Museum website for dates and times of operation.
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
(the other is the Franklin Creek Grist Mill). It is located on Salt Creek
Salt Creek (Des Plaines River Tributary)
Salt Creek is a stream in northeastern Illinois. It is an important tributary of the Des Plaines River, part of the Illinois River and ultimately the Mississippi River watersheds...
in Oak Brook, Illinois
Oak Brook, Illinois
Oak Brook is a village in DuPage and Cook Counties, in Illinois. The population was 8,702 at the 2000 census. A suburb of Chicago, it is the headquarters of McDonald's and Lions Clubs International.-History:...
, owned by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County is a governmental agency headquartered in Wheaton, Illinois. Its mission is to acquire and hold lands containing forests, prairies, wetlands, and associated plant communities or lands capable of being restored to such natural conditions for the purpose...
and operated by a nonprofit preservationist group.
History
Friedrich Graue, born in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, emigrated to the United States in the late 1840s. Changing his name to 'Frederick', he brought with him knowledge of the craft of waterwheel gristmilling. Settling in what was the farming village and early transportation hub
Hub
Originally, the term hub referred to the central part of a wheel.Hub, HUB, Hubs, or HUBS has many uses, as listed below.-Wheels:* Bicycle hub, the central part of a bicycle wheel*Hub gear, bicycle gear...
of Fullersburg, Illinois, formerly named Brush Hill, he and William Asche (whose brother-in-law, Henry Fischer, built a wind-powered grist mill in what is now Mount Emblem Cemetery
Mount Emblem Cemetery
Mount Emblem Cemetery is located at the intersection of Grand Avenue and County Line Road in Elmhurst, Illinois. Despite noise from air traffic to O'Hare International and automobiles on I-294, the peaceful surroundings and carefully planned landscaping work to help visitors enjoy the tranquility...
) and then filed claim in 1849 to a tract of damp, clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
-rich bottomland along the banks of Salt Creek that was home to a sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
that burned down the year before. Together they built a new sawmill. They together operated this mill for three years, until Graue decided to engage in the milling business on his own.
Digging ditches in the poorly-drained soil, he and his family recovered clay that could be used to make bricks. The Graues built a kiln on their farmstead, fired the bricks, and slowly raised the new structure and waterwheel into place from the on-site building materials. The mill went into operation in the summer of 1852.
The ditching and draining of the Graue Mill farmstead was typical of German-American settlement patterns in the Midwest in the 1840s and 1850s, as the thrifty
Thrifty
Thrifty is the name of several companies* Thrifty Foods* Thrifty Drug Stores * Thrifty Rent A Car It is also a name given to a type of phenotype* Thrifty phenotype-See also:*Affluenza...
German emigrants found assets in tracts of land that had been left behind by earlier, English-speaking frontiersmen and women.
Frederick Graue could not build his entire mill from onsite materials. He bought four buhrstone
Millstone
Millstones or mill stones are used in windmills and watermills, including tide mills, for grinding wheat or other grains.The type of stone most suitable for making millstones is a siliceous rock called burrstone , an open-textured, porous but tough, fine-grained sandstone, or a silicified,...
s that turned on water-driven axles to grind locally grown corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
. Quarried in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the buhrstones, a type of millstone
Millstone
Millstones or mill stones are used in windmills and watermills, including tide mills, for grinding wheat or other grains.The type of stone most suitable for making millstones is a siliceous rock called burrstone , an open-textured, porous but tough, fine-grained sandstone, or a silicified,...
, were carefully dressed by specially trained craftsmen so as to form two level, gritty surfaces that would pulverize the grain between them.
Graue and his family were Pietist Germans who opposed American slavery. The mill is one of three authenticated Illinois stops on the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
, the subversive movement that helped fugitive slaves escape from the American South to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Today
The Graue Mill operated in eastern DuPage County under three generations of the Graue family for approximately 60 years. In the 1910s, advances in milling technology, particularly the invention of steel rolling mills, drove the old mill out of business. The derelictDerelict
Derelict or dereliction commonly refers to:* Abandonment of property, then referred to as a 'derelict'* Derelict , property which has been abandoned and deserted at sea by those who were in charge without any hope of recovering it...
mill was restored by the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
in 1934-1943, and was opened to the public as a working historic site in 1951.
As DuPage County became urbanized in the second half of the 1900s, the mill's surroundings lost their agricultural context. The mill building itself, however, was honored as a survivor from Illinois post-frontier years. The Graue Mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1975, and was recognized as an Illinois Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1981. The mill has been periodically re-restored since 1943 to keep it in operating condition, including work completed in 2002.
The Graue Mill is located at 3800 S. York Road, on the banks of Salt Creek in Oak Brook, Illinois, and is surrounded by Fullersburg woods. It is currently open to the public and as of 2009 grinds grain which can be purchased at the site. Check the Graue Mill and Museum website for dates and times of operation.
External links
- Graue Mill and Museum, Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
- Fullersburg Woods Nature Education Center
- Fullersburg Historic District, Fullersburg Historic Foundation
- Hinsdale Chamber of Commerce
- Oak Brook Historic Timeline
- "Chapter 11: Hinsdale" by Shirley Stitt in DuPage Roots by editors, Stephen A. Thompson and Contributors
- "Chapter 16: Oak Brook" by Etta Susan Chapek in DuPage Roots by editors, Stephen A. Thompson and Contributors