The Mill - Knights Ferry - California Gold Country

AbandonedGold RushCaliforniaExploratography

Jul 4

Simply amazing stone ruin of a once immensely profitable grist mill.

David and Elbridge Locke began construction on the first grist mill here in late 1853, opening for business between October of 1854 and January of 1855. By 1857, the mill and the land surrounding it had been acquired by Emile Hestres and Jean B. Magendie, who operated the business under the name Stanislaus Mills. They were wiped out by the flood and forced into insolvency. David Tulloch then acquired the property which consisted of the mill site and a stone and brick warehouse. Rebuilding with brick and stone, and higher up on the bank of the river, the mill was back in business within the year, producing 130 thousand barrels of flour years. “Stanislaus Flour” was the preferred brank of flour throughout the Mother Lode, responsible for many a biscuit.

Tulloch died in 1896 and the business slowly died too. At the turn of the century, the mill was converted into one of California’s first hydroelectric plants. A fire occurred on August 8th of 1956, which destroyed the wooden roof and interior timbering of the complex, leaving the stone walls we take pictures of today.

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