Originally, Dillard was located on this hillside to avoid the flood waters of Indian Creek, but in the late 19th century the settlement moved a mile north to the Sligo and Eastern Railroad line, whose tracks were later removed. Near the mill, which had been the center of commercial activity until the railroad arrived, several businesses operated, including a store whose site is marked by four foundation stones about 50 feet to the left. The Sligo and Eastern Railroad primarily served the nearby Sligo Furnace, an iron smelting operation that began business in 1879 and shut down in 1921, and it drew businesses away from the mill to the railroad tracks. The Honeymoon Cottage was built by Lester Klemme as part of his Old Mill Lodge Resort and is the only one of the resort's four cabins still standing. The two-story home built by the Mischkes, owners of Dillard Mill, was purchased by Lester Klemme in April 1930 and became the centerpiece of his Old Mill Lodge; it now serves as the historic site administrator's residence. The Adams-Wilhite Store, an unpainted, metal-roofed, board-and-batten building built in the 1880s, served as both a store and community post office, and Cletis Cottrell, grandson of Joseph Dillard Cottrell, was the community's last postmaster, handing out mail from his store in the new Dillard.