Stephens Mill
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Gristmills were common in Kentucky in the 1800’s. The Stephens Mill was located on Clear Creek near Pine Knot and was certainly one of the earliest mills built in this area. Joshua Stephens (1785-1855) was a miller by trade and could have built the mill as early as 1819. The mill was erected using huge hand-hewn rafters held together by wooden pegs. The water was controlled by a wooden gate that allowed the water to pass into a wooden sluice that funneled the water to the top of a sixteen-foot wheel that spilled over a twenty-foot rock ledge. The mill was used to grind corn and wheat as well as carding wool.
Louis and Elijah (Lige) Stephens operated the mill during the Civil War. The mill was regarded as a prize by the Confederate troops who filed in and out of this Union-sympathizing area. One hundred Confederate soldiers were sent to capture the mill in 1862. Upon learning the soldiers were approaching, the Stephens brothers removed the corn and meal from the mill and hid it in a cave underneath a bluff near the mill. This bluff is known as the Corn Bluff.
My maternal grandmother, Madge Lee (Stephens) Kidd, daughter of Joe and Nancy (Gilreath) Stephens grew up at the mill and shared wonderful stories of life there. On one occasion, grandma’s hair became entangled in the gears of the mill. Her older sister, Marie, had the presence of mind to pull the wooden lever that stopped the gears. She also told us she and her siblings would play on the mill wheel despite being warned repeatedly by their parents how dangerous it was.
The Stephens Mill was sold to Christopher (Chris) King in 1931. Mr. King operated the mill and replaced the original wooden wheel with a steel when in the 1950’s. It is reported that Mr. King purchased the steel wheel in Jamestown, TN. Numerous citizens of McCreary County remember visiting the mill as children. The mill is no longer standing but the Stephens family has a strong presence in the area. Many of the family’s descendants live on Josh Hill Road, named after Joshua (Josh) Stephens, in Pine Knot near the site of the mill.
