{"nrhp_refnum":"75001372","name":"Bear's Mill","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"6450 Arcanum-Bear's Mill Rd","address_restricted":false,"city":"Greenville","county":"Darke County","state":"OH","lat":40.10678862900005,"lon":-84.54199589699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-06-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three and one-half story frame gristmill about five miles from Greenville in Darke County, Ohio, begun by the Hart brothers and put into operation by Gabriel Bear in 1849. It is water powered from Greenville Creek.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it a rare water-powered gristmill still operated in the pre-industrial manner and the oldest manufacturing facility in Darke County. It is also valued as a museum of milling technique, with French buhr stones from 1850 and roller mills installed in the 1880s.","narrative":"Bear's Mill is a three and one-half story frame gristmill west of Greenville in Darke County, Ohio, powered by water from Greenville Creek. Its hand-hewn timber frame, some beams 12 by 16 inches and up to 50 feet long, is covered in black walnut weatherboard dating to 1849. Gabriel Bear, a Pennsylvania miller, took over construction from the Hart brothers and began milling that year. After local stone proved poor, he bought three French buhr millstones, installed in 1850 and still grinding at the time of listing. Two turbines supply about 65 horsepower. Marcellus Cromer added five roller mills in 1886, three of which remain on the second floor. Charles Andrews bought the mill in 1946 and kept its historic character, shipping stone-ground flours and meals widely. The mill is recognized as the oldest manufacturing facility in Darke County and as a working record of milling methods.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1849)","architect_builder":"William, Moses and Manning Hart began construction; Gabriel Bear completed the mill and began milling (1849)","architectural_style":"Vernacular (Jacksonian era frame industrial building)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in good condition and occupied; still producing stone-ground meal and flour for local retail sale and visitors, with the miller semi-retired at the time of nomination.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:10.233598-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/75001372.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001372/270dc649ea-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001372/270dc649ea-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"R.P. Piper from Lebanon, Ohio, USA","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bears_Mill_-_Greenville_OH.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">R.P. Piper from Lebanon, Ohio, USA</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bears_Mill_-_Greenville_OH.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71987999","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear%27s_Mill","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4876328"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/darke-county/bears-mill-75001372/"}