Alexander / Wilson Mill

For generations, the Alexander and Wilson families made their livelihoods in the gristmill at Lock 37. The Alexander family built the mill about 1853 to grind wheat into flour, using water from Lock 37’s spillway to turn the mill’s wooden waterwheel and grindstones. In the late 1800s, the family replaced the waterwheel with smaller and more efficient turbines. About 1900, the Wilson family bought the mill and focused on milling feed for farm animals. They used waterpower until 1970, when they switched to electric machinery. Now the business consists mostly of animal food and fertilizer already bagged by suppliers.

Valley View, Ohio · United States