Huffman's Mill: Ruins and Remembrance

I previously posted photos taken in 1981 of the ruins of Huffman's Mill. Now I have a few more recent photos to post.

These first two were taken around 1995.


(Click on images to enlarge)
Image courtesy of Shawn Kenworthy.



The third was taken in 1999 …



… around the time of the funeral of Zelda Huffman Reynolds.

Zelda and her twin sister, Thelma, were children of Levi Randall and Nellie (Edwards) Huffman — that is, the younger Levi, who commonly went by Randall; his father, Levi, had bought the mill; and both men operated it at various times. Randall and Nellie's children grew up with Huffman's Mill as their playground. Here is how Thelma (born 1910) described it to her daughter, years later:

As I reminisce about my childhood I believe the most fascinating part was this old red brick mill where Dad [Levi Randall Huffman, 1880-1955] worked. There were many rooms to explore and numerous things to see; like the wooden chutes for grain and flour that criss-crossed throughout the inside. The dark dank basement on the first floor enticed us in. It was full of shadowy corners, where we'd play hide and seek and scare each other. Once in a while we'd see a rat scurry about. In one corner was a corn bin where the field mice would sometimes build a nest for their young.

The mud wasps liked the mill too for they built their nests up in the high wood ceiling. We learned to stay far away from the nests because of the wasps' wicked painful sting.

Upstairs were huge bins of grain. In the hot weather I used to stand in the cool wheat with my bare feet and legs and dip my fingers into the wheat and let it run gently through my fingers.

On lazy summer mornings I enjoyed watching the farmers from far and near bring their corn and oats to the mill. They'd come in large horse drawn wagons. After unloading the heavy sacks the men would stand around and talk while Dad ground their grain into feed for cattle and horses. They paid 10 cents for a 50 lb. bag to be milled. The mill was also a flour mill; Dad made pancake flour. The old mill where Dad worked for so many years still stands. Although abandoned it is in remarkably good condition. When I last saw it in 1974 many windows had been broken by vandals and the inside was covered by spidery cobwebs and dust. It is a landmark in Indiana.

As we know, the landmark mill is gone now.