YATES MILL (Mark)

​One of the oldest surviving buildings in Wake County, North Carolina is Yates Mill.  

I was in Raleigh because Cheri was taking in quilts.  I had no luck at the (closed) fire and railroad museums, so came to the Mill, which I'd been meaning to re-visit.  The Mill, its visitor center, and a walking and exercise trail are located just a few miles south of downtown Raleigh.

The land it is on was surveyed by Samuel Pearson in 1756 and granted to him by the Earl of Granville, who was one of North Carolina's Lord Proprietors.  The Mill was constructed that year.

​Pearson died in 1802 and the Mill was taken on by his son.  Due to debt, it was sold in 1819 to William Boylan.  Boylan was the director of the State Bank and a businessman.  Over the next 30 years he modernized the mill, and he added a sawmill in the 1840’s.

In 1853, the property was acquired by three men by the name of Briggs, Primrose, and Penny.  They owned it until the middle of the Civil War.  At this time debt, murder and other nefarious activities were taking place and the war had moved into the area.  In 1865 soldiers attempted to burn the Mill but it was saved.

​The land ended up being taken over by Penny’s son-in-law and daughter, Phares and Roxanne Yates.  The Yates family owned and operated the Mill until 1948 when it was sold to A.E. Finlay, who built a retreat by the millpond for his family, friends and employees.  The Mill operated as a business until 1953, when lack of demand led to it closing.

In 1963 the Mill was purchased by North Carolina State University.  It 1989 the nonprofit Yates Mill Associates was launched with the purpose of restoring the Mill.

It was very windy and gray while we were here in Raleigh, but nothing like it was in 1996, when the Mill was almost destroyed.

The rebuilt portions, including the new waterwheel has been built as period-correct as possible.  (You cannot just go to Lowe's Hardware and pick out a new waterwheel.)

Mary Lee Simpkins grew up at the Mill; her father was the miller from 1898 until the Mill closed in 1953.  The artifacts and photographs which she kept, and her oral history, keep the Mill alive.

The Mill still grinds cornmeal to support the fund its upkeep and repair.  You can find it at the visitor center and at Howling Cow Creamery, which is another N.C. State University operation.

I suspect another trip is in our future.