Musical entertainment and hayrides are available as well as grounds for camping or scouting activities. Living history programs are also available to show how pioneers accomplished many everyday chores before modern day technology came along. Tours of the old mill are conducted by appointment only.

The mill was originally built by Moses Parker. Moses had received a land grant from James Robertson of Davidson County dated August 27,1808, in payment for six months service in the late regiment. All Moses had at that time were two horses bearing the household goods, a rifle, chopping axe, hand saw, drawing knife, wife and four children. Upon arrival Moses quickly built a cabin, the mill, and “cleared a considerable farm on which he cultivated and raised plenty of provisions for home consumption”. Parker’s Creek was named for Moses after he killed a bear and cut his name in a tree in 1808. A Dickson County land deed dated 1827 refers to “the waters of Parker’s Mill Creek” in its survey. Moses’ daughter, Indiana Territory Parker, and her husband, Daniel Spencer, remained here and raised a family after Moses’ death in 1852.

The earliest documentation establishing the operation as Spencer’s Mill appears just before the Civil War in 1856. The mill was operated by Daniel and Indiana’s son, Samuel Spencer, as a water turbine driven corn and flour mill. The French burr stones which were used to grind corn and wheat for local farmers in this area were bought and shipped for $14.14 from overseas and used as ballasts for weight during the passage across the Atlantic. The mill became the center of the community where everything from rifles to coffins were manufactured. Even the first thresher in the county was constructed here. Spencer’s Mill boasted a wood and blacksmith shop, two stores, a saw mill and a post office. Mail was received semi-weekly in the community from January 18, 1878 until April 14, 1906. By the turn of the century the center of business had shifted to the nearby town of Burns because of railroad access built there during the Civil War.

Some old timers southeast of Burns say that Frank James kept a horse with saddlebags packed for a quick getaway at Spencer’s Mill following the war. Frank and Jesse James lived briefly in this area of Middle Tennessee at Big Bottom Farm on the Tennessee River while running from those that wished to kill them. Jesse went by the name of J.D. Howard but was know by locals as the “Rabbit Man” while Frank went by B.J. Woodson.

By 1919 Samuel’s son, William Spencer, Sr., was forced to sell the mill. Jeff Lampley bought the building and dismantled it. The operation of the mill was restarted ten miles away next to the tracks on Railroad Street in Burns. The mill was rebuilt as a new two-story linear structure, and passed down to his son, Sammy, then to his brother, William, Jr., and finally sold to Jewell J. Richardson. In its new building the mill ran on various power sources, including a steam engine and a diesel generator from the old Burns Electric Department until sometime in 1945. At this time Spencer’s Mill ceased operation sitting dormant and in disrepair for almost 50 years.

Trish and Tim Miller purchased the mill in 1993 and moved it back to the original mill site on Parker’s Creek where a faithful restoration began. In time, the present owners intend to operate the mill once again and preserve this as a local historical area. In the meantime cornmeal is being ground on site by a portable gasoline powered mill and complimentary bags are available – “the best cornmeal in these here parts”.
Donations to help restore Old Spencer Mill are appreciated.

By Jackie Narup

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For more infomation visit www.oldspencermill.com

Thanks to quillus for the use of his photo.