Hurricane Mills - Dam and Mill
Posted by: 
wtschume
N 35° 58.257 W 087° 46.870
16S E 429569 N 3981008
Hurricane Mills Dam
Waymark Code: WMC230
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 07/16/2011
Views: 12
This dam and mill were built by James T. Anderson in 1896. The dam was built to supply water to the original mill.
This is the dam and mill of Hurricane Mills. Today, this area is much better known as being part of the Loretta Lynn Dude Ranch, one of the most popular tourist attractions in the state.
This mill, and other historic spots nearby are on the National Register of Historic Places listed as the "Hurricane Mills Rural Historic District." According to a plaque across the river from the mill, this mill and dam were built by James T. Anderson in 1896. "Though wool was carded here, grain processing predominated, corn meal and flour were shipped through the south."
In the mid 60's, Loretta and Mooney Lynn purchased the 1876 mansion across the street from the river. Over the next few years, they preserved many of the nearby buildings and commercially opened the area as the dude ranch. Today, you can take a tour of the area, or just walk around some of the places, like I did. The mill's water wheel was removed and placed nearby.
Today, the mill serves two purposes. First, it is one of three gift shops on the ranch. Second, it is opened as the "Loretta Lynn Doll and Fan Museum"
Unfortunately, the Middle Tennessee May floods were not kind to Hurricane Mills. Just a few feet downstream from the mill (and would have been viewable in this picture), there was an iron bridge built in 1911 that used to carry highway TN13 (but had been replaced by a newer bridge) was completely washed away. I can't find any confirmation of this, but I suspect the mill suffered much damage as well as it looks like the exterior is almost completely rebuilt with new wood. (If you find any pre-flood picture, the mill is painted a deep red.) The area was closed for a couple of months after the flood and reopened July 3,2010.
Location of the waterfall:
Hurricane Mills Road
Hurricane Mills, TN.
38370
Coordinates of parking: N 35° 58.255 W 087° 46.909
Fees: 0.00 (listed in local currency)
Type / features of structure: Dam
Estimated height in feet: 15
Estimated height in meters: 5.00
Estimated width in feet: 125
Estimated width in meters: 42
River/stream/lake/reservoir: Hurricane Creek
Flow dates: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
To log this waymark, you will need to be able to prove to the waymark owner that you were at the waterfall in question. An original photo of the waterfall with your GPS in the photo would count as proof. Or a logged visit to a geocache in the area of the waterfall could also count as proof of a visit.