Smoky Valley Roller Mills, now known as the Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum, is an historic mill and museum on Mill Street in
Lindsborg, Kansas
Lindsborg is a city in McPherson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 3,776. Lindsborg is known for its large Swedes, Swedish, other Nordic and Scandinavian Americans, Nordic and Sc ...
.
History
Smoky Valley Roller Mills was built in 1898 to make flour from wheat. The roller mill was operated by several different owners. It was closed temporarily 1927–1934, until closing for the last time as an active business in 1955. It was originally water powered, but converted to electricity in the 1930s. The building was given to McPherson County in 1962. Malcolm Esping of Lindsborg and George Tesarek, a retired Quaker Oats miller from
St. Joseph, Mo. led the restoration of the building from 1974 to 1981.
The building is now part of a museum owned by a nonprofit organization formed in 2021. The museum grounds also include the
1904 World's Fair
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 mi ...
Swedish Pavilion and other buildings with local history exhibits, especially pertaining to
Swedish-American
Swedish Americans () are Americans of Swedish descent. The history of Swedish Americans dates back to the early colonial times, with notable migration waves occurring in the 19th and early 20th centuries and approximately 1.2 million arrivi ...
history. The museum is open Monday-Saturday, year round, except for specific holidays. The mill building was added to 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 1972. During Millfest, held annually in May, the machines in the mill are operated using
line shaft
A line shaft is a power-driven rotating shaft for power transmission that was used extensively from the Industrial Revolution until the early 20th century. Prior to the widespread use of electric motors small enough to be connected directly to ...
s powered by a large electric motor located outside the building.
Gallery
Old Mill - Lindsborg KS.jpg, Turbine power house of Smoky Valley Roller Mills
References
Related reading
* Saul, Norman E. ( 2000
Mill Town Kansas in the Age of Turkey Red(Kansas Historical Society)
External links
Old Mill Museum
Industrial buildings completed in 1898
Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Kansas
Museums in McPherson County, Kansas
Mill museums in the United States
Open-air museums in Kansas
Swedish-American culture in Kansas
Lindsborg, Kansas
National Register of Historic Places in McPherson County, Kansas
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