Old Mill Site

The Akron Milling Company’s three-story flour and grain mill was built in 1871 by two area businessmen, E.W. Sargent and L.N. Crill, on the high banks of the Big Sioux near Akron, then known as Portlandville. The mill played an important role in the early economic development of northwest Iowa and the Dakota Territory by serving farmers who otherwise would have had to transport their wheat and grain to Sioux City, and wheat and grain were also shipped from the mill by train. In 1905, power from the mill’s dam provided power for the city’s electric lighting. The original building was destroyed by fire in the late 19th century and later rebuilt. The mill showed how water power harnessed from the Big Sioux River played a key role in the early history of the area.

Akron, Iowa · United States