Silver State Flour Mill
Around 1866, talk began regarding the construction of a flour mill in Paradise Valley. Until then, the largest crop was barley as there were no nearby facilities to handle wheat. On September 23, 1867, a public meeting was held at Willow Point to discuss the matter, and Charles Adams promised to construct a mill at his own cost if farmers in the area pledged acreage and patronage to him for a minimum of three years. 1,275 acres were guaranteed for wheat crop, and that fall materials were delivered for the mill's construction. The building was completed in December, and after delays due to snow in the Sierras milling equipment was installed in March 1868. Water to power the mill was obtained from Martin Creek, and after fulfilling its use drained into a large orchard.
In the 1880s, Adams sold the mill to Battiste Recanzone. It later passed to Recanzone's son Lorenzo, who was awarded two gold medals for his flour at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri in 1904. Closer to home, the flour was marketed throughout northern Nevada until the early 1930s, when the mill closed. Today the mill is part of (and the namesake of) Cassinelli's Old Mill Ranch and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Despite nearly a century since its closure, the original milling equipment remains in place waiting to produce its next sack of flour. A special "Thank You" to Dan Cassinelli for allowing access and to his daughter Danielle for an in-depth tour of the mill building.
