Built in 1880 by James Conley and William Rankin beside the Wolf River, the grist mill later named for Alvin York was one of the most sophisticated mills in Middle Tennessee. It was a turbine-driven, water-powered mill that ground corn into meal, drawing farmers from miles around with wagonloads of corn to be made into cornmeal or livestock feed. Alvin York bought the mill in 1942 and operated it until his death in 1964, although his brothers and sons ran it for most of that period while he was away in the early 1940's aiding the U.S. war effort and as his health declined soon afterward. In 1967, his widow Gracie York sold the mill to the State of Tennessee for preservation, beginning Sgt. Alvin C. York State Historic Park. York's Special cornmeal was filled in sacks at the mill and sold at the York General Store.