COMMUNITY
THE RUN OF THE
White’s Mill is a garden center located in Athens, Ohio.
A historic, centuries old mill lives a second life as a spot to shop for local hidden gems. BY MICKEY FATH | PHOTOS PROVIDED BY WHITE’S MILL
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or locals, Athens would be incomplete without the iconic white exterior and striking red roof of White’s Mill, a hidden gem for finding the best local products in town. The mill has sat peacefully on the banks of the Hocking River for over two centuries, nestled around vibrant green foliage and rushing water. The mill was built in the early 1800s with a mission to be a profitable grain milling business in the Athens area. Over two decades later, the historical site remains, but has since been transformed into a popular retail center for home and garden products and locally-produced goods. In 1809, Joseph Herrold built a massive mill with three grinding stones, used for grinding grain, and ran the milling business up until 1912, when it was sold to the White family. The Herrold family was well-known in Athens. Herrold’s stepfather, Silas Bingham, lived in the oldest remaining house in Athens, known today as the Silas Bingham House, which now houses Ohio University’s Office of Sustainability.
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backdrop | Fall 2020
MILL “When the Herrolds were selling the mill, [the Whites] saw an opportunity to come here,” White’s Mill co-owner Tyler Schloss says. “They took advantage of it, and they became very good community members and contributed a lot to Athens.” A year after the White family began running the business, the mill tragically burned to the ground due to a grain fire, a common occurrence with grain mills during that time period. To combat the tragedy, the Whites disassembled a mill in Meigs county and reassembled it in Athens, successfully saving the business in 1913. According to the White’s Mill website, the process of bringing a new mill to Athens was anything but easy. The timbers of the old mill were marked and the mill was disassembled, put on barges that were pulled by oxen, brought to Athens and constructed where it stands now. Even through the tough transition, the parts of the new mill were sturdy enough to last over 100 years later. Today, the age of the mill is visible, as the anatomy of the mill resembles historic trends. “It's pretty neat because that mill was from the 1850s, so all our timbers and other parts of the mill are from that era, like the hand-hewn beams,” Schloss says. “You can just tell it’s really old and significant. But, the new mill had just one grinding stone, so it was just a bit smaller.” As time passed, the dam washed out and the mill needed a new purpose. Mike Toomey, a relative to the White family, purchased the mill in the ’90s and shifted the business into a home, pet and garden retailer with local products as well. The current co-owners, Schloss and Rodney Dowler, both
