Parker Mill Complex

The Parker Mill Complex, consisting of a largely intact grist mill (1873) and cider mill (1887), a log millworker's house built in 1878, the 1885 Parker House and various barns and sheds, is a well preserved example of the small-scale, family-run, combination farm-and-grist-mill operations which were once ubiquitous in the Michigan landscape, but are now virtually nonexistent. William Parker's grist mill is historically significant not only for its continuous service down to 1959, but also because it occupies the site of what is thought to have been the first sawmill in Washtenaw County and perhaps in all of the 'inland' area of Michigan. The Parker House is notable in the local context as a handsome, cubical Italianate structure of coursed-ashlar construction. The Parker Mill Complex stands on land purchased in 1824 by Robert Fleming. Parker's grist mill stands on the site of a sawmill Fleming constructed in the summer and fall of that year, only a year after the first settlement of Washtenaw County. The evidence suggests that Fleming's sawmill was in use for the next twenty years, but then fell into disuse or was destroyed. In 1863 William Parker, then a recent arrival from England, purchased the mill property and adjacent farm. He began construction of his new grist mill in 1873, utilizing, it is thought, parts of the old sawmill foundations; the mill was in operation by 1875. In 1887 the nearby cider mill was constructed. The grist mill probably originally was powered by a wooden 'tub' wheel, but this was later replaced by a metal turbine. In a manner typical of the many small milling operations which once existed in the area, the grist mill's main shaft powered not only all the machinery associated with feed grinding, but also a lathe and later a press for vinegar production in the adjacent 1887 building. At first the mill primarily ground livestock feed and flour for the Parkers and neighboring farmers. Gradually its market changed, however, as the Parkers began to produce flour and vinegar for Ann Arbor groceries. In the twentieth century the mill became well known locally for its pancake mix, as well as whole wheat and buckwheat flour. The two mills remained in operation until the death of George Parker, William Parker's son, in 1959. The Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission is hoping to purchase the Parker mills and put them back into operation as an educational resource.

The Parker Mill Complex consists of the Parker grist and cider mills, a nearby log house connected historically with the mills, and the Parker house and its barns and outbuildings. These structures are all located along a several-hundred-foot long section of Geddes Road -- a narrow, paved road -- where it crosses Fleming Creek, a small but swift-running stream flowing southward toward the Huron River. Though located near an expressway, the complex's setting is still predominantly rural and consists of rolling fields and brush and woodlands. The central elements of the complex are the grist and cider mills, which are situated south of Geddes Road a short distance inland from the creek's west bank. The mill buildings are set into a steep slope rising from the creek's floodplain, so that there are entrances at grade to all floors from various sides. The Parker grist mill was constructed in 1873 (a date stone incorporated into the foundation bears that date). Modest in size but of three stories, it consists of a one-story, gable-roof upper section clad in board-and-batten siding above a two-story, fieldstone foundation. Although the mill ceased operation in 1959, the structure remains in good condition and has suffered no significant alterations. The turbine, shafts, millstones, chutes, ductwork, fanning machine, bolting chest, and other auxiliary equipment remain intact. A few yards south of the grist mill stands the cider mill. Built in 1887, this two-story structure has a vertical-boarded upper section and handsome, coursed-ashlar foundation. Milling operations in this building were powered by the shaft connected to the turbine in the grist mill. A mill pond located to the north of Geddes Road provided the head for milling operations. A millrace ran from the pond southward through the grist mill's basement and then southeastward back to the creek. Today the dam is in ruins, the pond has been drained down to a swamp, and the millrace has been partly filled. A diminutive, flank-gable log house standing on the north side of the road a short distance west of the mills was built in 1878. It suffers from neglect and vandalism, but is not beyond repair. Several hundred feet farther west near the crest of the hill on the south side of the road stands the Parker house. Constructed in 1885 with walls of coursed ashlar, this notable, two-story Italianate dwelling has a symmetrical, three-bay-wide facade and hip roof. Two or three small sheds stand to the east of the house and, a short distance beyond, are the coursed-ashlar foundation walls of a larger barn which has burned. Another barn, a small structure clad in vertical boarding, stands nearby on the north side of the road in deteriorated condition.