Built in 1876 by H.A. Chadwick and his sons William and Milam, who also constructed other mills in the region, Voca Waterwheel Mill used water diverted from the river by a still-visible 1300-yard millrace. It originally ground wheat and corn, and a saw was soon added to produce "rawhide" lumber. The first cotton gin in the county, powered by this wheel and producing 3 bales per day, was built in the early 1880s. A store operated near the mill for a short time but moved to Voca after the landlord refused to allow the sale of bitters. The mill operated until it was washed away by a flood in June 1899.