Dick's Mill Restoration Project

06/21/2026

Well, we finally had a day with sunshine and I was able to spend a couple hours working on the rock facia at the mill. Got a 10 foot section done in three hours and still have another 8 foot to go to finish the front. I was hoping to get a chance and finish it tomorrow but of course being Missouri, looks like we have a full day of rain. But I am thankful for what I did get accomplished. 

06/19/2026

Photo of Steve that should have been on the previous post!

06/19/2026

I stopped to visit with Steve Winters tonight at his shop and he showed me the progress he is making on the wood pulleys for elevators #2 #3 and #4. These pulleys were in the basement and rotted beyond use. They are laminated with many layers and many pieces which Steve is rebuilding one at a time. Once glued together, they will be turned on a lathe. The upper and lower pulley boxes for these elevators are going to have to be partially rebuilt and the ones that are salvageable will be restored for use. Steve’s work is excellent, and he has become an important part of the Dick’s Mill team. People volunteering their skills are what will bring this mill back into operation. Thank you, Steve! Showmetprogress.

05/31/2026

Dick's Mill now has a new front door latch! And not just any latch, but a hand forged one that was hand made by our resident Blacksmith, Bernie Tappell. Bernie came last week and installed the latch, and then looked over other projects that he will be undertaking for the mill restoration. We are lucky to have Bernie on the Dick's Mill team. Real Blacksmiths are not found on every street corner! Bernie is also the head Blacksmith at our annual Steam Engine Show in September. Check out Missouri River Valley Steam Engine Assn. website and page for more information on when to see Bernie working in his Blacksmith shop! Thank you Bernie!

05/21/2026

05/18/2026

Last week we were able to place three pieces of the original equipment back onto the second floor of Dick‘s Mill. Greg brought his service truck and with the help of Robbie and Christie Ramey and my wife Mary, it went smoothly.  In the photos you see the flour dresser that Greg restored being lifted to the upstairs door. Greg put a lot of hours and meticulous work into restoring this piece. We will still have to do some stain work to blend the new wood with the old. The other two pieces installed were the cornmeal sifter and the Eureka horizontal scouring machine. There is a lot of work yet to be done, but for us this was a major step forward.
 And to top off a good week, we received a couple of very nice donations from two of our great supporters! Jerry Steinkuhler of Concordia stopped by to visit the mill and leave us a check. And Ellis Tuttle of Columbia sent a check and a nice letter in the mail. Ellis also has a nice teaching display made from an old wood auger that is used to show children how the mills augers work. He is donating this educational display to Dick‘Mill. We really want to thank Jerry and Ellis for their support of our project! 

05/14/2026

 I want to give thanks to Debi, the owner of Copies Etc. of Boonville for the excellent work and attention to detail that she gives her customers. She has been helping me with all of the lettering that’s had to be replaced due to fading of the original on all of the mill equipment. The doors on the cleaner/scouring machine were missing and Steve Winters of Columbia built the new doors out of Poplar wood. Using a vintage 1887 magazine ad, Debi was able to make exact templates of the original lettering so that I could re-spray the painted manufacturers information. She made a two stage set of stencils so that I could use two colors like the original. It turned out great and is exactly as original. And Debi has been donating her time and materials to the Dick‘s Mill Project. If you need signs, banners, or other specialty work contact Copies Etc. of Boonville, Missouri. Thank you.Debi !

04/28/2026

The Eureka Close Scouring Machine is now finished with the exception of the ornate lettering that will go on the door on each side. The original doors were "taken" as souvenirs many years ago. Steve made new ones and I experimented with stains to make them look original. Every piece of this machine was disassembled, cleaned, sandblasted, wire brushed, primed, and painted. Over 280 bolts, nuts, washers, and wood screws individually cleaned and painted! The wood was all cleaned and touched up with stains, and coated with a "warm glow" satin polyurethane to give it a "original, used" look. Nearly every piece of metal was rusted beyond use and had to be reformed. New sieve screens were custom make by Commodity Traders International of Illinois. This machine is now fully functional!
Greg has the flour dresser that he has been restoring ready to return to the mill also. He has the inner reel also finished, but it will still need to be covered with the silk liner. There are four more reels of this type in our other equipment, and when they are ready, Cindy at Dillard Mill has offered to help us cover them. Mill people are the best! The "St. Louis Corn Meal Bolt" was finished a couple of months ago, and Greg will be bringing his service truck and extendable boom up in the next week to place these three finished pieces into the upper story of the mill. These are the first pieces to go upstairs and will lead to installing line shafts and elevators. I expect that we are looking at two more years of hard work and a fair amount of money to make Adolph Dick's Mill operational again! Many thanks to the Dick's Mill crew for their skill and craftsmanship!

04/27/2026

Our friend Cindy Newton sent a nice donation to us this week! Cindy has supported Dick's Mill since the early days, and her help as well as everyone else who has donated is very much appreciated! With the building up and mostly completed on the exterior, people are assuming that the work is done. But there is a million things to be completed before the old mill will run again. Each piece of equipment has to be meticulously restored to working order, the steam engine restored/installed, boiler shed built, line shafts restored and installed, wooden elevators restored along with a hundred wooden grain legs, lighting installed, rock foundation facia completed, along with two forty foot storage containers of the "guts" of the mill that need restoring! There are a myriad of things that need to completed including the front deck and handicap ramp, all of which costs a lot of money. Sometime in the near future I will have to finalize the granite and bronze monument with the names of donors who donated $2500 or more. The Dick's Mill Project has been 100% funded by you, the public! The levels are Bronze-$2500, Silver-$5000, Gold-10,000, Platinum-$15,000, and Diamond-$20,000 and above. This large granite monument with a bronze plaque will be installed at the front corner of the mill. Many thanks to all who have donated!
I also wish to introduce you to Steve Winters of Columbia! Steve is a master woodworker who is doing a lot of behind the scenes work for Dick's Mill. In this photo, Steve has just delivered all of the parts to rebuild the upper and lower pulley housings for elevators #1 and #5. Steve built these from Poplar wood just like the originals that are too rotted to use. Thank you Steve!

04/15/2026

Making progress on the Eureka Scouring and Seed cleaning machine. I wanted to share an interesting discovery from today. On the end of the machine, I could see some faint writing and could not quite decipher it. I sprayed a light coat of semi gloss urethane on the area, and after several hours of drying, I lightly sanded the area with fine sandpaper, and the original lettering appeared. It says, “No 1. Capacity 20 to 30 bush per hour. I will have this copied and have stencils made exactly as the original so that it can be repainted. Working on this old equipment never gets boring and you learn something new every day.