{"nrhp_refnum":"82003543","name":"White's-Vale Mill","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"OH 682","address_restricted":false,"city":"Athens","county":"Athens County","state":"OH","lat":39.321122357000036,"lon":-82.12535792999995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-07-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A frame water-powered grist mill and its log crib dam on the Hocking River at the edge of Athens, Ohio, on State Route 682. The mill was built c. 1855 at Dyesville in Meigs County and moved to this site in 1915.","why_significant":"The mill and dam are described as the only historic water-powered grist mill and dam standing in Athens, on a site with mills since about 1807. The log crib dam is a rare early dam type in Ohio. The mill is also one of a handful of water-powered grist mills in the state still capable of operating, and it has gained significance on its present site after nearly 70 years.","narrative":"White's-Vale's Mill and Dam stands on the Hocking River at the edge of Athens, Ohio. The mill is a three-story frame building with heavy hewn beam construction, a sandstone block foundation and clapboard siding. It was built about 1855 as a flouring mill by Nathan Vale at Dyesville in Meigs County. After a mill on the Athens site burned in 1912, E.S. White bought Vale's mill, dismantled it and rebuilt it here, with the parts numbered for reassembly. The mill ground flour continuously until 1975, when high water destroyed part of the dam. The attached dam is built of notched hewn logs in a double-walled crib, a very early method that is rare in Ohio, and was later capped with concrete. Mills have operated on the site since about 1807. It is the only historic water-powered grist mill and dam standing in Athens, and much of its early grinding machinery remains usable.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Nathan Vale (original mill, c. 1855); E.S. White (moved and rebuilt, 1912-1915)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Milling continued until 1975, when high water damaged the dam; the machinery is not currently used but is described as largely usable. The owner hopes to restore the dam and resume grinding.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.457092-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/82003543.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003543/47210ff6d8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82003543/47210ff6d8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jaknouse","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Whites_Mill-1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jaknouse</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Whites_Mill-1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986741","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q137599622"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/athens-county/whites-vale-mill-82003543/"}