Paint Creek Cider Mill

Needham Hemingway built the first mill at this site in 1835, harnessing water power from the Paint Creek millrace. William Goodison purchased the gristmill in 1866. The surrounding community took his name and became a railroad stop in 1872. The mill operated under various owners until 1941. Dale O. Miller purchased the property in 1945, hoping to restore the old gristmill and produce water-powered electricity. The building was no longer structurally sound, so he had the mill dismantled in 1953 and salvaged the original hand-hewn timbers to use in constructing a new tourist destination: a cider mill. Miller hired architects Giffels & Vallet Inc., L. Rossetti to design the building. Its style was inspired by both Mid-century Modern and Swiss chalet architecture.

[Back]: Paint Creek Cider Mill was built in stages between 1958 and 1968. The wheel room, which was built first, contained an 1890s Edison bipolar dynamo generator and a Fitz water-wheel that lit the room with water-powered electricity. The cider mill’s construction followed. A later addition connected the wheel room and cider mill. Timbers salvaged from the 1835 gristmill were incorporated throughout the new building’s interior. The mill opened as a tourist attraction in the 1960s, selling fresh cider and donuts to large weekend crowds. Paint Creek Cider Mill Restaurant opened in the wheel room in 1983. The waterwheel was restored ten years later. Oakland Township acquired the building by donation in 2005 and began using the second floor as office space.