Built in 1861 and abandoned in the 1950s, historic Jones Mill near Fountain Inn is getting a new lease on life, thanks to a $1.6 million restoration effort.
Backed by a $1.6 million in state funds and a team of dedicated volunteers, the restoration of historic Jones Mill near Fountain Inn is underway with plans to turn the once-neglected property into a riverfront park.
The abandoned grist mill, built in 1861 on Big Durbin Creek, ceased operations in the 1950s and fell into disrepair until the Fountain Inn Museum acquired the land in 2020 and began an ambitious plan to renovate the property as an example of the area’s agricultural history.
“The time was right,” says Buddy Gray, chairman of the Jones Mill Committee for the Fountain Inn Museum Board of Directors. “The Garrett family gave us the mill and three acres of land. Later, they gave us five more acres and $50,000 seed money.”
Over the last two years, the committee has raised funds and wrangled volunteers for the early stages of restoration, including fencing the property and putting in a gravel road.
In addition to restoring the water wheel, grinding stone and wooden structure of the mill, “we hope to have trails, possibly wildlife overlooks, signage identifying plants, birds, and animals,” says Gray. “Our park, we hope, will be educational concerning waterpower and how it determined where people lived and worked.”
For more information, visit jonesmill29644.org or facebook.com/HistoricJonesMill.
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