Musicians

We traveled back to Mountain Grove to visit the Missouri State Fruit Experimentation Station…

They were ready to welcome us!

This place is what it says it is: they do research into many types of fruits…

So they showed us the fruit of their vines…

We had a lovely tasting of their wines…

After the tasting we toured the winery…

Not exactly a large facility. But, after all, they are just doing research…

Next stop: The wine store… We exercised great restraint…

Next door is a small brewery.

We all had lunch there. It is sort of a hobby brewery: family run, only open on occasion. Today they served us tacos. Not really Mexican food; just Missouri food (beef, cheese, tomatoes) served in a tortilla… Taco sauce served on the side…

We returned to the campground. We enjoyed Happy Hours together…

And then we had a little entertainment…

This was a local group that had spent some time in Hollywood recording their music, mostly for movie soundtracks… But they live here now, playing these types of gigs…

On a side note:

This electric organ is in the clubhouse. These hymn books are properly placed. One might think they hold church services here now and again; however, when I picked up one of the books it was almost stuck to the rack, and it clearly had never been used, or even opened before… Apparently, they’re just props.

So we returned to the Villa. An enjoyable time was had by all…

Quiet Morning…

Then we drove about 20 miles south. Over dirt and gravel roads, and fording raging rivers…

We finally found the Topaz Mill, built 1895.

Buried deep in the hills of Douglas County is a nearly nonexistent town called Topaz. Serene scenery and a gushing spring say you’ve arrived, after traveling a crunchy gravel road. Perhaps some of those same stones carried locals who, in the past, brought their wheat to be ground at the town’s mill.

Nowadays, things are much different. Instead of finding dry goods or flour, getting a haircut or posting a letter, as local folks once did, visitors find something else. They discover a picture of the past. Because the town’s former general store, barbershop, and mill have been preserved and show a way of life once common – but now long gone – in the Ozarks.

Today, Joe Bob O’Neal and his wife, Betsy, are the caretakers of Topaz and live on the property. They eagerly share their unique destination with the world, giving tours and time to anyone who wants to come learn.

The area’s first mill was built around 1840, but Joe Bob shares that its modern history actually goes back much deeper, and ties to Henry Schoolcraft.

“In 1818, 1819, Henry Schoolcraft and Levi Pettibone were the first travelers to document their travels through this part of the country,” shares Joe Bobl. “On Nov. 20, 1818, according to their diaries … he came across a spring that was mammoth size and it flowed out of a rock ledge and ran about 200 yards and ran into the river, and doubled the size of the river. Everybody says that was Topaz spring.”

The first mill at Topaz was thought to have been built around 1840. No one knows for sure what happened to that one, but it was only the first phase of the community, which evolved greatly in the late 19th century. In the early 1890s, the post office was commissioned, and in 1895, the current mill was built.

Unlocking its door today unlocks a whole new world – but really, one that’s old.

“The equipment that’s in this mill, with which to make flour, came from Great Western Manufacturing in Leavenworth, Kansas,” says Joe Bob. “I have the receipt here for when this equipment was bought, dated May 2, 1903. I’ve had people tell me this is the most valuable piece in the whole building because they’ve never seen anything like this.”

In addition to the original mill equipment, a black and white barber chair sits and waits for customers who will never come. On the wall, faded lettering still advertises haircuts and tonics for a quarter and a dime apiece. Outside, the spring roars.

Joe Bob shares the relevance and role of the mill and town years ago, which history shows was likely a hub in the area. It was likely quite populated in the past. However, time was not kind to Topaz, and by the 1940s, the town had nearly disappeared. One of the last remnants at that time was the store. Part of that was in response to changing times, ease of travel and less need for the community’s amenities.

In the 1950s, Joe Bob’s family purchased the mill. His grandparents and aunt and uncle were dairy farmers near Republic, and were in need of a good water source during a time of drought. They discovered the property, and moved to Douglas County. An interesting fact: Joe Bob’s grandfather actually worked in mills, similar to the one at Topaz, when he was a young adult.

“I didn’t realize this until just recently, but he would’ve know everything about this mill because he would have used it,” says Joe Bob.

Maybe it was the personal connection to milling. But whatever the reason, the O’Neals opted to keep the old store and mill around. Eventually, restoration happened and over the years, visitors began stopping by.

“My uncle, if he was around here, and somebody came looking for the place, he’d stop what he was doing and give them a tour just like I do,” says Joe Bob.

Growing up, Joe Bob spent summers at Topaz. In 2013, he and Betsy moved there from Kansas City.

Today, the O’Neals welcome visitors to Topaz, and give tours so others can learn from the store and mill.

The fact that the mill equipment is all intact is amazing…

The mill pond is fed by a 10 million gallon per day spring… Water runs down these concrete sluices (built in 1992 to replace the rotting wooden sluices), and feeds the mills turbine. Yep – a turbine. No silly water wheel here!

Where the water fills the shaft and drives the turbine…

This is just like the turbine that drives the mill. Joe Bob saws it been here at least since the late 1940s, and he doesn’t know why…

Joe Bob gave us the history of the place. One of the reasons the town died, and the reason towns like this died all over the country, was that the homestead act that gave settlers the rights to settle here allotted each farmer 40 acres. That could support a family in the mid-1800s. But as farming methods and equipment improved, some farmers bought their neighbors’ parcels and many farmers sold out and left. So instead of having ten families per 400 acres you now have maybe two or three… Huge population drop…

Inside, Joe Bob explained what each piece of equipment was and how it works.

As built, the mill could process corn meal and refined flour. All Joe Bob does today is make cornmeal about once or twice per month… The refined flour making process is extremely complex, so he doesn’t bother…