War Eagle Mill and Eureka Springs, Arkansas

A week ago this past Sunday, my hubby and I went for a ride after church. We went to War Eagle Mill for lunch. This is one of the few working grist mills left in the United States. It has been destroyed many times, once by a flood and once by fire during the Civil War. It was rebuilt both of those times and was rebuilt the last time in 1973. They make all kinds of yummy mixes, cornbread, which is a Southern staple, hot roll mixes, pancakes, you name it, they grind the grain and make it. They package everything in really cute cloth bags, just like feed and flour use to come in only in miniature.

These are just a few pictures of the inside of the mill. I wish I would have taken one of the outside. It looks like a 3 story red barn.

Grinding the grain. It goes in the 2 containers.

The following pictures are of the War Eagle River, which helps power the water wheel. It is not powered by electricity but by water only. It is really interesting to watch. You cross the bridge if you are going to the mill from the west side. It is a one lane bridge with the paths on the brigde for your tires. Can be a little scary at times.

The water wheel which powers the grinding wheel inside.

We had lunch on the 3rd floor of the mill. The restaurant is called the "Bean Palace". They serve great sandwiches and bean soup and also the soup of the day along with fantastic cobblers like blackberry, apple and pecan. Oh so good!!!

Each year, twice a year, there are giant craft fairs here, especially in the fall, the third week in October. People from all over the United States come to the fair. It will be interesting to see what happens this year with the economy the way it is. There are motor homes and travel trailers everywhere and every motel is filled to capacity. It is a lot of fun and you can eat your way through the fair with all of the wonderful goodies. The first one of the year is held in May and is not attended as heavily as the fall fair is.

After we through through having lunch, we went to Eureka Springs. It is a quaint Victorian village nestled in the Ozarks. Tourism keeps this town going. This is a picture of 2 guys playing their instruments on the sidewalk for money. You see a lot of this.

I hope you enjoyed our little afternoon out.

Blessings