At Old Mill Days, Oakesdale rallies to save historic flour mill

OAKESDALE, Wash. – When a historic flour mill was listed for sale last fall, it brought up questions about the future of Oakesdale’s annual festival, which celebrates the landmark.

At Old Mill Days on Saturday, organizers announced a fundraising effort to acquire and preserve the building.

“It’s not just important to the community, I think it’s important to the whole United States,” said Mayor Dennis Palmer.

The J.C. Barron Mill, built in 1890, is the last surviving mill of its kind in the Palouse region. There were once as many as 19 flour mills in Whitman County.

The mill joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Towering four stories over the center of town, the wooden structure evokes curiosity from visitors. Aside from occasional tours by the owner, its doors have been shut since 1960.

Always in the background, the mill remains an important symbol for Oakesdale, a town of about 400 people.

Old Mill Days started as a craft fair in the 1980s.

Jake Dingman, superintendent of the Oakesdale school district, reorganized the event 10 years ago to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the McCoy Valley Museum and the 125th anniversary of Oakesdale.

It has grown into a two-day event that includes activities for everyone: a pancake breakfast, a parade through downtown, games in the park for kids, live music, dancing and night swimming at the community pool.

A car show, featuring the Vipers Car Club from Spokane, occupied on Saturday the lawn under the mill, which still has a for sale sign.

Mary Jane Butters, an organic farmer in Moscow, Idaho, is selling the 13,400-square-foot mill for $217,000.

Community members, with the help of the Innovia Foundation, are working with Butters and have started a fund to try to buy the mill.

The fundraising effort is part of the Oakesdale Community Endowment Fund, which supports school activities, revitalization projects and historic preservation.

A booth next to the town hall on Saturday took donations and suggestion forms for how to repurpose the mill.

The fund has raised over $100,000 so far, said Aaron McMurray, chief strategy officer for Innovia.

The vision is not only to restore the mill, but use it to support economic development in the area.

A regional advisory committee will oversee revenue-generating strategies. Ideas for this are to turn it into a multipurpose visitor center, a museum, a cafe, retail or event space.

Palmer, who is a member of the committee, remembers hauling wheat into the mill as a high school student in the 1950s. He wants to see the original equipment restored and open the building again for tours.

“It would be a shame to see it torn down for the price of lumber,” said Gail Parsons, president of the Oakesdale Historical Society.

Whatever happens to the mill, Dingman said Old Mill Days will continue.

“The old mill is part of our history and identity,” he said.