Champion Mill (Nebraska) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Champion Mill
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Champion Mill building. The milldam is out of frame to the right.
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 Location in Nebraska
Location in the United States
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| Location | Mill and Second Streets, Champion, Nebraska |
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| Area | 3.8 acres (1.5 ha) |
| Built | 1888 |
| NRHP reference No. | 88000913 |
| Added to NRHP | June 23, 1988 |
Champion Mill is a really old flour and feed mill located in Champion, Nebraska, a town in southwestern Nebraska. It was first built in 1888. After a fire, it was rebuilt in 1892. This mill made flour and animal feed for many years, until 1968.
Today, Champion Mill is a museum and a park. Chase County manages it. It helps us remember Nebraska's last working mill that used water power. The mill, its water channel (called a headrace), and the dam became a historic site in 1988.
Champion Mill: A Busy Place for Grinding Grain
The town of Hamilton, which later became Champion, started in 1886. Many new settlers moved to the area then. People chose this spot for a town because of a natural three-foot waterfall on the Frenchman Creek. This waterfall was perfect for building a mill.
Thomas Scott bought the land and water rights. He promised to build a mill there. An earthen dam and the mill were built. They started making flour and animal feed in 1889. A fire damaged the mill in December 1891. But it was rebuilt and working again just one year later.
Over the years, the mill grew bigger. By 1945, it only made animal feed. Different owners ran the mill until it finally closed in 1968.
From Mill to Park: A Place for Fun and History
In 1969, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission bought the mill complex. It became the Champion Mill State Historical Park and State Recreation Area. People had always enjoyed the mill pond for fun activities. The nearby picnic and camping areas were also popular. The mill building itself was turned into a museum.
In 1988, the mill complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This was because it was a great example of mills from the late 1800s and early 1900s. It had also been used for a long time. The mill pond was also a very important place for recreation in southwestern Nebraska.
The historic area includes the dam, built in 1887, and the headrace (water channel). It also has the three-story wooden mill building. The oldest parts of this building were constructed in 1892.
In 2013, the ownership of Champion Mill State Historical Park and the nearby 11-acre State Recreation Area changed. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission transferred them to Chase County. The site still includes the lake formed by the Frenchman Creek.
