{"nrhp_refnum":"75002077","name":"Graue Mill","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NW of jct. of Spring and York Rds.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Oak Brook","county":"DuPage County","state":"IL","lat":41.82088432900008,"lon":-87.92911547199998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-05-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Industry"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick gristmill on the south bank of Salt Creek in Oak Brook, Du Page County, Illinois, built by Frederick Graue between 1847 and 1852 and now operated as a museum.","why_significant":"It was the largest mill in its area and the only mill in the immediate vicinity, serving local farmers until 1929. Local tradition holds that it served as an underground railroad station before the Civil War, though the form notes there is no primary documentation. It is described as the only operating gristmill in Illinois.","narrative":"Graue Mill is a brick gristmill beside Salt Creek at the edge of the Fullersburg Forest Preserve in Oak Brook, Illinois. Frederick Graue, a Hanover-born immigrant, built it himself between 1847 and 1852 on the site of a burned sawmill. The three-story building rests on a limestone foundation from Lemont and a hand-hewn white oak frame. Wooden gears and driveshafts in the basement connect to an 18-foot undershot waterwheel. The mill served local farmers until 1929 and was the largest in its area. Local histories also say it sheltered freedom seekers as an underground railroad station, though the nomination notes no primary documentation exists. After standing vacant, it was restored in 1951 by the Du Page Graue Mill Association and opened as a museum. The upper floors display nineteenth-century home and work life, and the main floor still grinds corn meal. It is described as the only operating gristmill in Illinois.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (opened 1852)","architect_builder":"Frederick Graue (builder)","architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Operating as a museum; the mill machinery still grinds corn meal for visitors. The form reports it was vacant from closure until reopening as a museum in 1951-52. Condition is listed as excellent and unaltered.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.923497-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/36/8927/28892736/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/75002077.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75002077/775fa0393c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75002077/775fa0393c-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Chester Hart, Photographer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Graue_Water_Mill,_York_Road,_Fullersburg_vicinity_(Du_Page_County,_Illinois).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Chester Hart, Photographer</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Graue_Water_Mill,_York_Road,_Fullersburg_vicinity_(Du_Page_County,_Illinois).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892736","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graue_Mill","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5597744"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/dupage-county/graue-mill-75002077/"}