M-50 Trip, Dundee, The Old Mill

I've seen The Old Mill in Dundee for some time and finally decided to stop in at the last minute. I'm very glad I did. Since I was trying to get down the entire length of M-50, I didn't stay long, but the 20 or 30 minutes I was there was fascinating. I never made it off the first floor of the museum and learned a lot about the area.

The mill was built between 1848 and 1849. It changed hands several times before being donated to Dundee. Henry Ford purchased the mill for use as a factory and constructed a new concrete dam. The old wooden dam is still intact behind the concrete one. The mill is located on Toledo Street, so named because it was the main road between Toledo and Ann Arbor. There was a rapids in the area of the dam and the ford in the river was where the bridge is located.

The city building was built a few years ago on fill material. According to the man at the museum it was an old dump. Since the ground was unsound, they drove pilings into the bedrock. Unfortunately, the blasting at the conrete plant north of town sends shockwaves through the bedrock and has caused damage to the building.

If you get a chance to visit, it is well worth the time.





This is where the water was this spring.







You can see the difference. The picture of the bridge posted previously was taken from the corner of the building.

The back side of the mill.