{"nrhp_refnum":"72000240","name":"Bale Mill","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"3 mi. NW of St. Helena off CA 128","address_restricted":false,"city":"St. Helena","county":"Napa County","state":"CA","lat":38.541263583000045,"lon":-122.50929869999999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-06-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A wooden grist mill built in 1846-47 on a sloping site about 3 miles northwest of St. Helena, off Highway 128, between St. Helena and Calistoga in Napa County, California.","why_significant":"The form calls it a prime example of an early grist mill, built by Dr. E. T. Bale, grantee of Ranch Carne Humana. It ground flour for settlers during the Gold Rush and is described as the only historic structure of its kind in California. It has been county-owned since 1941 and is open to the public.","narrative":"Bale Mill is a wooden grist mill built in 1846-47 about three miles northwest of St. Helena, between St. Helena and Calistoga. Set on a slope, it has three stories on the downhill side and two on the uphill side, each level covering roughly 1,000 square feet. Local lumber and stone were used, and the millstones were made from native stone. A 45-foot wooden overshot water wheel was fed by a flume of hollowed redwood logs, with a rubble stone tailrace carrying water away. The original shake roof has been replaced with corrugated iron. Dr. E. T. Bale, grantee of Ranch Carne Humana, built the mill, which ground flour for settlers while prospectors searched the Sierra Nevada for gold. It is described as the only historic structure of its kind in California. Napa County has owned it since 1941, and it is open daily to visitors. It is also registered as California historic landmark number 359.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (1846-47)","architect_builder":"Dr. E. T. Bale (builder)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by Napa County since 1941 and open daily as a public attraction; condition listed as fair and altered, with a corrugated iron roof replacing the original shake roof.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.556563-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/72000240.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000240/3a1ad37f48-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000240/3a1ad37f48-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Missvain","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bale_Grist_Mill_State_Historic_Park_-_November_2022_-_Sarah_Stierch_31.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Missvain</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bale_Grist_Mill_State_Historic_Park_-_November_2022_-_Sarah_Stierch_31.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859990","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q123024358"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/napa-county/bale-mill-72000240/"}