Learn about role played by local mills

To learn more about how water-powered mills operate and their importance to the community, the McHenry County Historical Society will present the third of its four-part Sampler lectures about the mills.

Sandra Brubaker, executive director of Graue Mill and Museum in Oak Brook, will speak at 2 p.m. Monday at the McHenry County Historical Society Museum, 6422 Main St., Union.

Graue Mill is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and still operates as a grist mill.

As with mills that once worked in this county, Graue Mill was a major center of economic life during the 19th century. This one, however, also was used by Fred Graue to hide runaway slaves on their journey to freedom in Canada.

Graue Mill and Museum is owned and maintained by the DuPage County Forest Preserve District and the museum is operated by the DuPage Graue Mill Corp., a not-for-profit group.

Water-powered mills have a long history in McHenry County.

During McHenry County's frontier period, one early lawsuit took place between mill owners at Solon Mills and those at Blivens Mills, now Spring Grove. This 1849 suit was officially titled, "Trespass on the Flowage."

In both communities the mills were powered by water diverted from Nippersink Creek.

When millers in Spring Grove built a dam and altered the free course of the stream to Solon Mills, the millers there filed suit. Water power mills were central to the survival of fledging towns on the frontier.

For information about this lecture and the final lecture, April 21, a vintage fashion show, call the McHenry County Historical Society Museum at (815) 923-2267. Admission to each lecture is $10.