Thomas Goudy received authorization from the Indiana General Assembly in 1839 to build a dam across the Eel River at this location, and in 1840 he built the first mill here. That first mill operated for 14 years before a flood washed it away. In 1857, partners Daniel Baker and Samuel Rank built the current mill structure. In 1916, James Madison Deck and his son James Hurst Deck improved the dam to its current form by hand mixing concrete on the bank, hauling it by wheelbarrow, pouring it in front of the original timber dam, and moderately increasing the dam's height. The mill has always used water power exclusively. Water from the dam is channeled by a mill race to three Leffel water turbines in a sub-basement, generating a total of 75 horsepower, which gears, shafts, pulleys, and belting distribute to roller mills on the main level for grinding. The second level is used primarily for storage of wheat, flour, bran, and middlings, and the top level contains equipment for sifting and cleaning wheat. Four floors of operating machinery could produce around 50 barrels of white flour per day. Commercial flour production ceased in 1964. In 2002, Dwight and Susanne Fouts purchased the mill and transferred ownership to the Stockdale Mill Foundation preservation group, which oversees ongoing restoration.