Hodgson Water Mill

Dora, MO - The Hodgson Water Mill is advertised as the most photographed mill in Missouri. The first mill on the site on Bryant Creek was built by William Holeman in 1861. Alva Hodgson bought the mill in 1884. The original burned and Hodgson built a new one in 1894 and, in 1898, his brother George Hodgson became operator and part owner of the mill. After a grocery store that stood near the mill burned in the “50’s”, Charles T. Aid purchased the mill and it became known as the Aid-Hodgson Mill, remaining in production until 1977. The mill was built over a spring that is reported to produce 28,900,000 gallons of water a day. Before rural electrification (REA) came along, generators were powered by the spring, giving them power to run a cotton gin, sawmill and overall factory. Word has it that this is where the “Big Smith” overalls originated. In 1982, the worst flood ever recorded raged along Bryant Creek. The water stood more than four feet deep in the upper level of the mill. Another flood, in 1985, brought the water level to almost three feet in the mill’s upper level. The mill property is being restored. [Ozark County’s Historic Grist Mills]

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