George Hillman first operated a gristmill here in the 1870s, along with a general store and post office. In 1894 James T. Anderson bought the property and built the present-day mill and dam that generated the first electricity in Humphreys County, with a line running into Waverly. Flour milled here and finished wool produced here were sold across the South. A church and a school were also built. In 1966 Loretta and Mooney Lynn purchased Hurricane Mills and developed it into a popular attraction.