In 1913 Wade Sturgeon purchased 1850's sawmill equipment from the Korbel Brothers and operated the mill from 1914 through 1923 on Coleman Valley Road. It was then disassembled and moved seven miles inland by horse-drawn sleds and wagons to its present location. The mill was reassembled and began operation in 1924. Wade, his wife Esther and sons Ralph and Merl live on this site. This is also where Wade created his Woodlands garden. In 1943 Wade sold the mill to his son Ralph and Ralph's friend James E. Henningsen. They operated the mill on a handshake until 1963. The mill then sat idle for 30 years. In 1964 James passed his interest in the mill to his son Harvey. In 1993 former mill workers had a 30th year reunion at which seven preservationist, some of them former mill crew members, donated $100 each to begin the Sturgeon's Mill Restoration Project. Wade Sturgeon paid $700 for the mill in 1913. In 2002 Ralph Sturgeon died and his share on the sawmill partnership was passed on to his son Bob and daughter Essie Sturgeon Doty. In 2003, after years of restoration work, Sturgeon's Mill was reborn with its first open house for the public and in 2007 was again powered by steam. Sturgeon's Mill has retained most of its original records, hand tools, rolling stock and 1800's steam powered equipment from the original 1913 Coleman Valley sawmill.