To the north of Suttons Bay, near the casino along M-22, you’ll find an old wooden structure beside Belanger Creek. This historic mill was constructed in 1859 by Antoine Manseau. The creek was originally named Keywatosa Creek after a Native American Chief, Keywatosa. Manseau created a dam on the creek, built a 26-by-30-foot mill, and began grinding grain using a pair of millstones imported from France. It was likely the oldest grist mill in the Grand Traverse area, serving local farmers who brought their grain to be processed. At the time, it was quite advanced, featuring 56 belts that powered multiple rollers to turn grain into flour.

In 1906, the mill was purchased by Eugene Belanger and his sons—Ignatius, Alexis, Luke, and Edwin. It continued to operate until 1934, when it closed due to a partial collapse of the concrete wall and a decline in local grain farming. Today, the old mill stands by the roadside, overlooking Belanger Creek as cars rush by on their way to the nearby casino or the many wineries scattered throughout the Leelanau Peninsula.

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This old mill sits near downtown Hart near Silver Lake. The building is part of a complex of buildings that make up Hart’s Historic District. Next time you are over on the west side of the state near Pentwater and Ludington be sure to take a trip through the historic district. You can learn more at their website HERE

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I saw this old mill in Bellevue. I stopped and went down by the river to get this stunning view of the stonework and the river. I did not know at the time it was a house until I read the historical marker.

Horatio Hall built this mill for Manlius Mann in 1854. Powered by water from the Battle Creek, a three-ton overshot waterwheel in the basement turned three pairs of millstones that ground grain from local farmers into flour. Before vertical grain elevators came into use, a rope hoist in the western roof peak lifted grain to the appropriate level. It was manually pulled through the corresponding vertical door to be processed. Grain products produced here included corn meal, bran, white whole wheat and biscuit flour. In 1873 Mann sold the mill to Hiram Ovenshire and Danial D. Gardiner. Ovenshire became the sole owner in 1881. Around 1888, to increase replaced the millstones with steel roller mills and the waterwheel with two forty-three-horsepower turbines.

The Bellevue Gothic Mill produced many flour products and brands, including Blue Bird flour, marketed by Abraham Butler, a former dry goods store owner. By 1929 the mill yielded up to sixty barrels of Blue Bird flour per day. In 1949 this was the only mill within a fifty-mile radius that still produced flour. Hiram Overshire’s descendants, whose surnames included Ovenshire, Hollenbeck and Butler, owned the mill until it closed in 1975. In 1977 the Stockhausen family purchased the property. They restored the exterior and renovated the interior for an adaptive reuse as a private residence. In 1982 they installed two hydroelectric generators in the basement, allowing them to supply renewable power to the community.

I found this video on Youtube about the renovation of the old mill. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnDWibKuH2E

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