Today my family and I drove almost an hour and a half to attend Smith Mill's fourth open house. I feel rather privileged to attend this event. The mill has not been open to the public very long, and a lot of things are newly placed, like the nice walking path and foot bridge, as well as a Blacksmith shop, according to the Smith's Facebook site.
We waited a little while to get in, which is understandable (we got lucky though, we showed up right after it opened, and by the time we left, close to the appointed closing time, the line was at least three times longer than it had been when we got there. Bob Smith said they'd stay open as long as they needed to, he just hated that people had to wait in line.) The surrounding country is beautiful, everything is well landscaped, and the wait doesn't seem very long at all.
Also, everyone we came in contact with were very friendly, many people in line and around the property stopped to talk abut one thing or another, the history or the mill, or the equipment, or the area,which just makes the experience even better, in my opinion. The Mill's owner and builder, Bob, was fantastically friendly, and you can hear the passion he has for this project when he speaks about it.
As we got into the mill, Bob was telling about how he found the mill in a general state of disrepair, and bought pieces of other mills from all over the states to complete his, including many pieces from a mill in Newport PA, after salvaging the purchased contents of the defunct mill in 1986. It took him over 25 years to piece together his mill. Bob said it was built in 1875 and had an 18 foot diameter by five foot wheel. He said that he had to reconstruct the wheel anyway, so he narrowed it down to 38 inches. Smith, a retired engineer, hand built many of the mill's components, including the wheel's 64 buckets, which he fabricated in his shop last year and bolted into place.
His parents had a huge collection of farm implements, which they now house in the basement of the mill, in an area called "SmithsOnlyOne" as suggested by Bob's dad. They have a truly amazing piece of living history.
Beyond the mill they have a fairly large area of corresponding activities. This year's feature is a fully functional Blacksmith shop, the Smith Mill Forge, run by Elred Simpson, and Bob's eleven year old apprentice Daniel Lewis.
There is also a neat sorghum press, which of course I didn't know what that was, and an elderly gentleman standing near us in line to the Blacksmith's told us was used to press sugarcane. The kids were having endless fun with it.
This is a several time a year event, and I don't believe the mill is generally open to the public. You can watch for activities on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Smith-Mill/279431245439903
Directions:
From I-57 N-
Keep straight on I-57 at the 57/64 split.
Take exit 109 onto 161 East, follow about 30 miles.
Turn Left onto County Highway 25, there will be a big blue sign for Blue Point Church.
The Mill is a few miles down on the right hand side, you may not see the mill from the road, but you will see Smith's yellow shop and home, and there are markers. You will know when you are there.
Smith's Mill
2353 County Hwy 25, Rinard, IL 62878
618) 673-2596
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