Austin's Mill later known as Ball's Mill

 

The water mill at Balltown, built by Daniel H. Austin in 1836, was the first mill erected in Vernon county. It was both a grist and a saw mill. At first the grinding apparatus was adapted only to grinding corn, which was practically the only kind of grain then in the country. The saw mill was of great value to the county. Prior to its establishment the only home sawed lumber in the neighborhood was whip-sawed. The Nevada Herald, Nevada, Missouri; 14 Jul 1938.

The 1887 History of Vernon County, Missouri   Page 154:  In the spring of 1835 Rev. N. B. Dodge and family joined the settlement on the Osage. In 1836 Daniel H. Austin, who had been the millwright at Harmony Mission, came over and put up a mill on the Osage, at the site of Balltown. This was a water mill and a fairly good one.  In a year or two Austin sold the mill to Cecil D. Ball and removed to a farm a mile and a half east of Balltown. ... Austin's mill was the nucleus of the settlements on the Osage, and really of those in the northern part of the county.   Page 383:  In the year 1836, Daniel H. Austin, one of the missionaries at the Harmony Mission, removed to this county with his family, one of whose members was his son, Josiah, and settled half a mile east of Balltown. He built the first mill in Vernon county. It was a water mill and Austin afterwards sold it to Cecil D. Ball, the founder of Balltown, who came in the year 1837 and reconstructed it, as noted elsewhere in this chapter.   Page 387:  But the real founder of Balltown was Cecil D. Ball, a nephew of Rev. Nathaniel Dodge, who in the year 1837 came to the county first on a visit to his relatives. After a stay of a few months he went to St. Louis and was employed by a number of wholesale merchants as a traveling collector. He returned to Austin's Mill in 1839 and decided to engage in business and permanently locate at that point. He first purchased and then repaired and reconstructed Mr. Austin's mill and set it to sawing lumber with which to build a new mill. This was soon accomplished and without delay the old mill was supplemented by a new establishment, in complete repair, well built, and with a capacity apparently quite beyond the necessities of the country at that day. But the judgment and foresight of the enterprising owner were soon made manifest. The mill was crowded with customers and some years later steam was introduced. The days of corn bread alone were past. The farmers could now raise wheat and have it ground and bolted into good flour, which they had hitherto been unable to do, without a long and toilsome journey to a mill in a distant locality.   Page 288:  On the 28th of August [1861] a raid was made into the northwest part of this county by a body of Kansas troops from Ft. Lincoln under Capt. Jas. M. Williams, of Montgomery's regiment. The Federals numbered 150 or 200 men, all mounted, with Sergt. Tom Moonlight's 12-pound howitzer. The objective point was Ball's Mill, where had been stationed for a few days a detachment of rebel troops under Lieut. Col. Thos. Cummins, of Bates county, who had taken forcible possession of Col. McNeil's mill and were grinding a supply of meal for Gen. Price's commissaries.    Three miles northwest of the mill the Federal advance encountered Col. Cummins and 150 men from Rains' Division, and a little skirmish resulted. Williams and Moonlight were riding in advance and Capt. Williams had his horse killed under him, and one of his men was severely wounded. Cummins fell back to the mill and then to the army. His loss was two men killed and a few wounded. The federals followed up and cannonaded the mill, despite McNeil's protest. The next morning Capt. Williams, it is said by Lane's orders, burned both the mill and the bridge.   Page 391:  The next morning the Kansans returned to Balltown, and some of them burned both the mill and the bridge over the Osage. Then, after gathering up Col. McNeil's and Mr. Ball's negroes, and a considerable herd of cattle, horses, mules, and hogs, Capt. Williams returned to Kansas.    The mill was a valuable one and of great service to the community. The bridge was a fine strong structure, built of hard-wood lumber, chiefly walnut, was covered and sided, and its destruction occasioned great inconvenience among the people and a considerable financial loss to the county.

The burning of the bridge and mill was widely reported in newspapers across the region.   The Leavenworth Times, Leavenworth, Kansas; 5 Sep 1861, part 1 The Leavenworth Times, Leavenworth, Kansas; 5 Sep 1861, part 2 The Leavenworth Times, Leavenworth, Kansas; 5 Sep 1861, part 3   Western Home Journal, Lawrence, Kansas; 12 Sep 1861   Wyandotte Commercial Gazette, Kansas City, Kansas; 7 Sep 1861   Sioux City Register, Sioux City, Iowa; 7 Sep 1861   The Nevada Democrat, Nevada, California; 19 Sep 1861

Piece of Mill Stone found in the bottom of the Osage River at Balltown several years ago when the water was low. This is now at the Bushwhacker Museum in Nevada, MO. (Click on picture)

Miscellaneous articles from area newspapers pertaining to Balltown area mills.      Charley Wilson is the rustling saw mill man doing a good business, but Charley has accepted a position as sawyer in an Arkansas mill at $65 a month, and will go down there next week. Nevada Noticer, Nevada, MO; 15 Dec 1892.      Marion Bouse was hauling logs to the Balltown saw mill last week. Nevada Noticer, Nevada, MO; 2 Feb 1893.        J. O. Rimmer will put a grist mill in operation in Balltown in the near future. A thing badly needed here. Nevada Noticer, Nevada, MO; 27 Apr 1893.      Wilson & Frank have leased the saw mill at Balltown. Nevada Noticer, Nevada, MO; 6 Jul 1893.      Rumer (sic) says there will be two mills started in Balltown soon. Rimmer & Bro. have rented and put a new roof on the Ames shop which they will use for a mill  house. They have ordered a new outfit and will do custom work or exchange--to suit their customers. Nevada Noticer, Nevada, MO; 23 Nov 1893.      The Rimmer mill is now in full blast and Balltown is booming. Nevada Noticer, Nevada, MO; 14 Dec 1893.      J. O. and J. C. Rimmer have dissolved partnership, in the mill, J. O. will run it himself in future. Nevada Noticer, Nevada, MO; 25 Jan 1894.      Capt. Roberts, of Balltown, purchased J. H. Railing's saw mill the first of the week. He will move it to Mart Hughes' land near Balltown in a short time. The Metz Times, Metz, MO; 12 Jan 1906.      Joe Sidney has returned to Horton and is employed at Roberts' saw mill. The Metz Times, Metz, MO; 29 Nov 1907.      Cap Roberts reports business quite slack at his saw mill since the mines closed. The Metz Times, Metz, MO; 21 May 1909.      We understand that Cap Roberts and C. Breeze are going into partnership and start a saw mill.    Cap Roberts had a good day Saturday for his mill. He ground a lot of corn and wheat for feed. Nevada Herald, Nevada, MO; 28 Jan 1916.   Excerpt from Balltown Was First Village in Vernon County by Miss Beulah Melick.    After the bridge was burned W. W. Tibbs operated a ferry until a new bridge was built. Later Elias Taylor built a steam sawmill, which he operated for several years, then moved the mill elsewhere.    Several others operated mills there, the last one moving away about 1898. Not at any time were there more than four stores operating at the same time. The largest population was about 125. The Nevada Herald, Nevada, MO; 14 Jul 1838   Also see Balltown Bridge over Little Osage

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