Klepzig Mill, Missouri

From Blue Spring, we drove off to find another old mill.  After some more driving (things are fairly spread out in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways), we finally headed down the bumpy dirt road that runs by Klepzig Mill.  The mill was built in 1912 by Walter Klepzig, the son of a German immigrant.  According to the National Park Service website, Walter Klepzig was considered to be a "progressive thinker."  He was the "first in the neighborhood to introduce both barbed wire and woven fence wire and a refined breed of milk cow" (how is a cow refined?  Does it hold up its pinky when it drinks tea?).



Klepzig also apparently "routinely saved 'good boards' for use in building coffins for his neighbors," which is an odd little note to mention on the NPS website. It was probably a well-intentioned thing to do in the rough and tumble Ozarks in the early 1900s, but it's also a little creepy. "Hey Steve, nice to see you! By the way, got some great wood for your coffin. Have a nice day!"



The mill was certainly built in a very scenic location, overlooking Rocky Creek. The creek lives up to its name, as it is filled with huge boulders and waterfalls. This is the creek as it rushes under the mill.



Klepzig Mill was used as a both a sawmill and as a mill to grind corn. In the 1940s, it was also used to help generate electricity.



And one last shot of the mill, taken while sitting just above a waterfall that was probably about 15 feet tall. The mill overlooks a section of the creek that swirls and drops between huge rocks before calming down a bit past the mill. It was a very scenic spot that was one of our favorite stops on the trip.



We made one more stop after this, and visited what is probably one of the most photographed places in Missouri...