Milling Around

Milling Around: Exploring 26 Mills in the Missouri Ozarks offers travelers and lovers of history opportunities to see, and in most cases visit, historical mills from the past. Twenty-four of the mills were driven by water power, and two by steam. Each mill stands in beautiful, often remote, settings. Day trips to the mills might include fishing, hiking, birding or kayaking/canoeing nearby. Some of the mills serve as communities’ central location sites, often hosting annual festivals, whereas others are available for rent for weddings and reunions.

Barbara Baird, who pens the “The Accidental Ozarkian” column and now a popular online blog, began her odyssey to find mills in the Ozarks of Missouri in 2000, after becoming a managing editor at a small-town newspaper, and searching for fodder for her weekly column. This book is a culmination of 24 years of visiting all the mill sites, and in several cases, re-visiting them.

Beautiful color photography is provided by Jason Baird, who has contributed photos to national magazines and Missouri’s newspapers. This book also includes GPS coordinates and maps, so that you, too, can head out on an adventure that you’ll no doubt cherish and consider well worth the drive.

Barbara Baird, who pens the "The Accidental Ozarkian" column and now a popular online blog, began her odyssey to find mills in the Ozarks of Missouri in 2000, after becoming a managing editor at a small-town newspaper, and searching for fodder for her weekly column. This book is a culmination of 24 years of visiting all the mill sites, and in several cases, re-visiting them.

A retired professor from Missouri S & T, Jason Baird contributed beautiful color photography to this book and edited up-to-date maps of each mill's location. His work has appeared in conjunction with his wife's articles in several magazine and newspaper articles.