The East Arcadia Roller Mill is located on the southern bank of Turton Creek near Arcadia, Wisconsin. The old grist mill was built around 1900 and used water from the adjacent creek to power the machinery. In 1915, a concrete dam was constructed to better harness the power of the water.
The two-story mill was built on a stone foundation. Nearby farmers would bring their harvest to the mill and unload it into the basement using a hoist that tilted the trucks backward. From there, the grains would be moved to the top floor using a platform and pulley system until they were ready to be processed. When it was time, the grain would be loaded into a chute on the second floor and fall into the machinery used to grind the grain into flour on the first floor.
Although the mill was converted to electricity, it couldn’t keep up with the larger, more modern mills that came to the area in the 1920s. It was eventually converted into a feed mill after World War II and operated into the 1970s.
The interior of the building still hints at its past, but the machinery has all been removed. Some say that the old turbine is stored nearby with the hope that it can someday be restored along with the building. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.
