Jolly Mill was built on Capps Creek at

Jollification ''Jollification'' is the third album by English rock band the Lightning Seeds. All songs were written by Ian Broudie, with contributions on some tracks from Alison Moyet, Ian McNabb and Terry Hall. Four tracks from the album were released as ...

, Berwick Township,

Newton County, Missouri Newton County is a County (United States), county located in the southwest portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 58,648. Its county seat is Neosho, Missouri, Neosho. The coun ...

, United States in 1848 by Thomas Isbell and his son John to serve as a

whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

. Jolly Mill was named for the local Jolly family. The mill also served as a

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

, and continued to operate in that capacity until 1975. (includes 8 photographs from 1982) Due to the flood in late December 2015, the park was heavily damaged. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1983.

History

The success of the mill led to the establishment in the 1850s and subsequent growth of the town of Jollification, the name referring to the unnaturally jovial disposition of the people who worked in and around the distillery. The town was burned during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, but the mill survived. The town was somewhat rebuilt. In 1870, the

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

bypassed what was left of Jollification, which ultimately led to its dissolution. The mill was purchased in 1983 by The Friends of Jolly Mill and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In recent years, under the care of The Friends of Jolly Mill, the mill has undergone somewhat of a renaissance. The mill and surrounding land have been restored and converted into a park, with many period buildings moved in from other locations in an attempt to replicate the look and feel of the town of Jollification. The mill is also a primary

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

location, managed by the

Missouri Department of Conservation The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Conservation Commission were created by Article IV Sections 40-42 of the Missouri Constitution, which were adopted by the voters of the state in 1936 as Amendment 4 to the constitut ...

as Capps Creek White Ribbon Trout Area. Four miles of trout stream are stocked with rainbow and brown trout periodically, and fishermen are permitted to harvest up to 4 trout per day.

External links

Historic Pierce City: Jolly Mill Park

References

Industrial buildings completed in 1848 Grinding mills on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Parks in Missouri Protected areas of Newton County, Missouri National Register of Historic Places in Newton County, Missouri Agricultural buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Distilleries in Missouri Bourbon whiskey {{NewtonCountyMO-NRHP-stub