I drove up to Rogers on a Friday to bird. I stopped by Cherry Bend and then, impulsively, decided to head up to Pea Ridge National Military Park on backroads. My route serendipitously took me past War Eagle Mill. I’d heard about the craft fair, but I’m not much into crowds. But it wasn’t crowded this day. There wasn’t much inside — a rather meager gift shop and a coffee shop. I walked across the bridge that spans War Eagle Creek and took some photos, but I didn’t stay long.
A mill was built here in 1832. It was destroyed by flooding in 1838 and rebuilt. The second one was burned down during the Civil War to prevent the enemy (presumably the Union Army) from using it. It was rebuilt again in 1873 and used until 1924. I’m not sure what happened to that one, but the current one was built in 1973, using traditional methods, as a reconstruction of the earlier building. It’s a functioning water-powered gristmill with an undershot wheel.
