Burrer Mill and Home at 46 North Columbus, circa 1909

Early Mills Were Big Business

Samuel Peck and Thomas.P Myers (son of the founder of the town) built a saw mill on the Big Walnut Creek at Walnut Street in 1842.  The creek was diverted upstream to flow into a pond with a right-of-way through John Knox's land for a trail-race to carry run-off from the water wheel  They sold the mill to Mr. Bailey in 1848 who added stone "Buhrs" for grinding 'grists'.  These buhrs were quarried in France when it was discovered local stone was too soft.

John Van Sickle built a mill in 1845 with a brush dam across the Big Walnut and about one half mile northeast of Sunbury.  Eventually the brush dam was replaced with planks and the mill sold to E. M. Condit who operated it from 1855 to 1866 when he sold it to Jacob Boyd.  Jacob sold the mill to his brother.  When Boyd sold the mill to Burrer and son, F. B. Sprague, a Justice of the Peace who certified the Burrer-Boyd purchase agreement on June 16, 1871, had expertise in the milling business and bought in as a partner with the Burrer father and son.  

Mr. Boyd, F. B. Sprague, Johann and Jacob (Jakie) Burrer bought the Bailey Mill in 1871 and moved some of the equipment from the Van Sickle Mill to the Bailey Mill  Johan Jacob died in 1874.  When Sprague became Probate Judge in 1875 after being Justice of the Peace, he lost interest in the milling business. By 1875 the Jakie Burrer was the sole owner of the mill but his 13 year old brother Frank continues to help with the business.

May 26th, 1875 Jakie Burrer married Amy Ann Gammill, daughter of Samuel Shiver Gammill,  owner of a saw mill and Hoop Factory northwest of the North and Vernon Street intersection.  An excellent builder, Gammill built Jakie and Amy a house at 46 N. Columbus Street which is still owned by the Burrer family.

Six months of the year the flow in the creek was not strong enough to turn.  In 1875, Shiver agreed to build the new  team powered Burrer Mill at 60 North Columbus Street. Between the house and the mill was an open ditch which was often full of water.  When the street were paved a large tile covered with fill ran through to Prairie Run draining the area.

 Foundations were laid for a frame structure for the mill and one of stone for the boiler and engine room. The new mill was to use the excess end-products (slabs and saw-dust) to fire the new boiler. Accordingly, an exceptionally large and tall smoke stack was erected to permit burning of this fuel with safety in the quantities needed.

A steam engine was purchased in Mt. Vernon shipped by train to the trestle over the Big Walnut  but the trestle was being replaced from its collapse.  The machinery was loaded onto a wagon and pulled by ox to the mill. A hoop factory operated on Vernon at North Street so the mill burned the by-product of the factory to generate steam for the mill

In 1879, Jakie and his wife Amy transferred the deed to the old Boyd (Bailey) Mill to Jakie's sister Louisa and her husband Henry Fleckner. They built their house at 10 Walnut Street where they raised two children.  Some of the old stone foundation of the mill can be seen near the creek.

The stone buhrs were replaced with steel rollers in 1886 and the Burrer Mill was known for its white loaf  flour and Red-A-Mix pancake flour.  Farmers brought their grain to the mill and stayed to take home the finished product.  Mrs. Amy Burrer would make pancakes for the farmers for lunch if they were detained. 

In 1886, Jakie's son, Sprague Burrer, age 10, was killed when he was caught in the mill belt and whirled 150 revolutions per minute, hitting his feet four times per revolution which torn them from his body.  This incident must have truly scared Amy but she continued to allow the other boys to spend time in and around the mill throughout their childhood and teen years. Knowing the perils of childhood around such a mass of unprotected drive belts, pulleys, sprockets, gears, clutches, engine fly-wheels, rotating, shaking and reciprocating machinery, it is indeed a miracle that all of the other boys were not injured

Electricity for the community became a bi-product of the mill but that's a story for another day.

In April 1945 the mill and Sunbury and Condit elevators were sold to the Farm Bureau.  Forest Canady bought the Burrer Mill from the Farm Bureau.  Hoyt and O.W. Whitney, jr. bought the property in 1951 and tore down the building.  The Cream Corner was built on that corner and a commercial building which now houses Ke-Wa-Pa was built on the north part of the lot.

Rear View

Packard Truck
2 1/2 ton, 4 cylinder
Steel Cab with sliding door
Solid Rubber Wheels
Made in Columbus

left to right
Charles Draper
Marion Parks
Jesse Boane
K.O. Burrer

Burrer Barn 
on north side 
of North
 Street used
 to store grain

(04/01/2006 )