Lanterman's Mill is the third mill since 1797 to operate at this spot along what today is known as Mill Creek. Youngstown founder John Young and Phineas Hill surveyed the falls along what is today U.S. Route 62 west of Youngstown. Young sold 300 acres surrounding the falls to Hill with the understanding that a mill would quickly be built there.
Lanterman used mother nature to his advantage, carving the bottom of the mill alongside the sandstone rock. Touring the mill today, visitors descend three levels to view the indoor water wheel and gear assembly. In what feels like a twist between an archaeological dig and a spelunking adventure, the bare rock walls still seep and drip with moisture, iron discoloration from exposure to oxygen baring testimony to the science of history.
Still operational, the mill grinds primarily wheat today but has examples to show of buckwheat and corn to those who view the grindstone on the main floor. Mill interpreters lead visitors through the steps in the milling process and the mechanics behind working, maintaining and replacing mill stones, which have a life expectancy of a half-century but needed to be "dressed" weekly. The two half ton grinding stones, depending on how fine the resulting flour should be, leave space between them no thicker than a piece of paper or as fine as tissue paper.While competition from modern technology (of the day) caused the Lanterman's Mill to cease in 1888, a hundred years later it was restored and opened to the public as a fully operational mill. In the intervening century it had served the public interest as a bathhouse for swimmers, nature museum and historical museum. In 1892 it was purchased as park property and for 25 years served the public good as ballroom, concession stand and bathhouse with the upper floors used as boat storage. In 1974 the mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1982 a full restoration was initiated, using historical records and blueprints.
The Mill is operated, and surrounded, by the Mill Creek Metroparks in Mahoning County. The immediate park property includes a visitor center, gardens, a 400-acre working farm, golf course and walking trails that include an historic iron furnace marker and remains, a log cabin, two unique bridges (suspension and parapet). Upstream from the mill is a covered bridge, originally built in the early 1800s to provide better access for farmers to deliver their grain to the mill. Signage on the bridge today, after being rebuilt in 1989, states that covered bridges were built to help ease the stress of the horses. Horses, quite aptly, were able to see that a typical bridge had no sides and the rushing river below was a danger. The covered bridge, then, acts as a form of blinders to keep the animal focused on the task at hand.
The walking trails that extend up and downstream make the complex the centerpiece of an afternoon hike. The mill has a small souvenir shop that sells flour milled onsite, other historic items but also remains historically faithful with concessions that include cold drinks and frozen treats. A two mile loop takes hikers along the Mill Creek, sandwiched between glacier-carved sandstone rocks and the creek itself along a well maintained board walk. Today a tour of the five story mill costs all of $1, less if you are a Mahoning County resident. Quite a bargain for a working piece of how you can see Ohio as America. In the heart of what was to become the "rust belt" a mill still stands as a hopeful beacon that a region that once thrived industrially just might emerge in a new century in a new way for a new market.
- J.
