Voca Waterwheel Mill

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.

Texas · United States