The Stratton Flour Mill served the Ohio Valley for more than 85 years, producing the finest bread and pastry flours and one of the first self-rising pancake flours, for which the Mill became famous. Today, the Mill is being restored to its appearance in 1902, and to the power source introduced in 1937 -- a 50 horsepower Buckeye diesel engine.

Construction of the mill began in 1877. The Civil War had come to an end with Lee's capitulation at Appomattox Court House just twelve years previously. Eight years earlier, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads met to form the first transcontinental line in America. (One of the Stratton Mill neighbors was a surveyor and civil engineer in the construction of the Union Pacific.)

In that year -- 1877 -- Cornelius Vanderbilt would die on January 4 as would Crazy Horse on September 5; swimming would be introduced as an American sport; and Rutherford B. Hayes was the nineteenth president of the United States. A chronology and brief history of Stratton Flour Mill are available on this Website.

In 1996, a special event in the history of the Mill occurred. While cleaning out Stratton House following the death of the last miller to live there, the recipe for Stratton's Self-Rising Whole Wheat Pancake Flour was found. After extensive research to locate contemporary ingredients that approximated those produced at Stratton Mill, the famous pancake flour was re-introduced. Made by hand in small batches from the finest ingredients available today, the resulting pancakes retain the rich flavor and beautiful light texture that made the pancake flour famous 80 years ago. (See Products)

See Brenda Krekeler's entry on Stratton Mill

Captions: Rear of Stratton Mill. Note that the stone has been re-pointed on most of this side of the Mill. This photo is taken from the approximate location of the Mill's orginal stables, which were used for horses untill the Mill purchased its first truck. Then cows replaced the horses, and the stables bacame the first Stratton dairy barn.

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