Old Spencer Mill - Burns, TN - Water Mills on Waymarking.com

The Parker's Creek area was settled in 1804 by Moses Parker and his family when he and his uncle, Elder John Parker, received permission from the governor of Georgia to leave Elbert County to visit the "Natchez Indian Territory". Their family eventually established the Turnbull Primitive Baptist Church in 1806 and remains the oldest continuously meeting church in Dickson County. Elder John Parker was a Primitive Baptist Church missionary that moved from place to place establishing churches & according to church records Moses' father Daniel Parker was the Turnbull Primitive Baptist congregation's first minister. Moses received a land grant from James Robertson of Davidson County dated Aug. 27th 1808 in payment for 6 months service in the late regiment. "When he landed at his destination all he had was two horses which bore the household goods, a rifle, chopping axe, hand saw, drawing knife, wife & 4 children. He quickly built a cabin & a mill & cleared a considerable farm in which he cultivated & raised plenty of provisions for home consumption", (Hickman Pioneer 1887). Elder John Parker soon left to spread the gospel in Crawford County, IL & later to Limestone Co. TX. It was here that he met his maker at the hands of the Commanches during the raid on Fort Parker on May 19, 1836. His granddaughter, Cynthia Ann Parker was captured & went on to live with the tribe for years later marrying the Chief Peta Nocona & giving birth to Praire Flower & the great Commanche Chief Quannah Parker. The John Wayne / Natalie Wood movie "The Searchers" is loosely based upon this story.

Back in Dickson Co. TN, Parker's Creek was named for Moses after he killed a bear & cut his name in a tree in 1808. An early Dickson County land deed dated 1827 & signed by Moses refers to "the waters of Parker's Mill Creek" in its survey. After Moses's death in 1852 his daughter, Indiana Territory Parker & her husband Daniel Spencer, remained here and raised a family. The earliest documentation establishing the operation as Spencer's Mill appear just before the Civil War in 1856. The mill was operated by Daniel & Indiana's son, Samuel Spencer, as a water turbine driven corn & flour mill. In order to grind corn and wheat for local farmers in this area, French burr stones were bought & 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 & blacksmith shop, two stores, a saw mill and a post office. Mail was received semi-weekly in the community from Jan 18, 1878-April 14, 1906. William A. Lampley was its first postmaster.
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. At that time the town was known simply as Grade 36 because of the mileage to Nashville from there. Later the name was changed to Burns Station. Many believe that the town was named in honor of the president of the Nashville & Northwestern raidroad Michael Burns which makes the most sense since he served as president from 1861-1865. Another old story states that the town was named for a Yankee Captain John Burns that commanded a detachment of black troops there during the war used to finish the railroad from Kingston Springs to Johnsonville & the Tennessee River. While it is true that black troops were used to construct the railroad, there has been no evidence found to back this up that such a man as Capt. Burns existed. In addition, Dickson County only supplied Confederate troops during the War Between the States & didn't exactly support this envasion of Southern soil by the Yankee invaders. Alexander Duval McNairy's 1864 Raid in Burns is a prime example of this. For more on this railroad please visit (visit link) Anyhow, the "Station" in Burns Station was later dropped in favor of simply "Burns".

By 1919 Samuel's son, William Spencer Sr., was forced to sell the mill. Jeff Lampley bought the building & dismantled it. The story passed down is that the roof joists were used for the old local 7 Gables Inn that is no longer in existence. The operation of the mill was reborn ten miles away next to the tracks on Railroad Street in Burns. The mill was rebuilt as a new two story linear structure, & 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 & in disrepair for almost fifty years. Trish & 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 & preserve this as a local historical area. In the meantime cornmeal is being ground on site by a portable gasoline powered mill & complimentary bags are available. Located just off the intersection of Abiff & Spencer Mill Road on Old Spencer Mill Road in southeastern Dickson County, Middle Tennessee.

Current Status: Still In Use Current Use: Cornmeal Mill and Tourist Attraction

Visit Instructions:
Provide a picture of your visit.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   10/14/2007 lilluckyclover visited it

View all visits/logs