Smoky Valley Roller Mills

Smoky Valley Roller Mills, now known as the Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum, is an historic mill and museum on Mill Street in Lindsborg, Kansas. ^[2]

Smoky Valley Roller Mills
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Show map of Kansas Show map of the United States
Location	Lindsborg, Kansas, U.S.
Coordinates	38°33′57″N 97°40′27″W
Built	1898
NRHP reference No.	72001451[1]
Added to NRHP	February 23, 1972

History

Smoky Valley Roller Mills was built in 1898 to make flour from wheat. The roller mill was operated by several different owners. It was closed temporarily 1927–1934, until closing for the last time as an active business in 1955.^[3] It was originally water powered, but converted to electricity in the 1930s. The building was given to McPherson County in 1962. Malcolm Esping of Lindsborg and George Tesarek, a retired Quaker Oats miller from St. Joseph, Mo. led the restoration of the building from 1974 to 1981.^[4]

The building is now part of a museum owned by a nonprofit organization formed in 2021.^[5] The museum grounds also include the 1904 World's Fair Swedish Pavilion and other buildings with local history exhibits, especially pertaining to Swedish-American history. The museum is open Monday-Saturday, year round, except for specific holidays. The mill building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. During Millfest, held annually in May, the machines in the mill are operated using line shafts powered by a large electric motor located outside the building.

Gallery

• 
  Turbine power house of Smoky Valley Roller Mills^[6]
• 
  Turbine power house of Smoky Valley Roller Mills
• 
  Log cabin at Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
2. "Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum – Preserving the Old Mill and Swedish Heritage of the Smoky Valley". Retrieved September 15, 2022.
3. "FAQ – Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum". Retrieved September 15, 2022.
4. "Time can't keep Roller Mill quiet" (Linda Mower. October 18, 1981. The Salina Journal) Retrieved February 25, 2016
5. Journal, The Salina. "Old Mill Museum in Lindsborg becomes nonprofit organization". Salina Journal. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
6. "2022 Guest grounds map and mill facts guide" (PDF). November 9, 2022.

Related reading

• Saul, Norman E. ( 2000) Mill Town Kansas in the Age of Turkey Red (Kansas Historical Society)

External links

• Old Mill Museum