Star Mill Way

Star Mill Way  |  Flume Wall

140 NW Park Drive  |  Est. 1882

In 1853 William Newby hired 300 Chinese laborers to cut a  four mile long ditch from Baker Creek to the north to bring water to a site where they had erected a gristmill. The diverted water then flowed into Cozine Creek and on into the Yamhill River. Newby had mill stones cut in Oregon City which he brought by boat and ox team to his mill. In 1854, Sebastian Adams and Newby laid out McMinnville around this mill. 

This important gristmill site was the prime factor in the platting, settlement, and development of McMinnville. It is located near the banks of Cozine Creek in City Park. The site includes two millstones mounted as landmarks at the site of the Star Mill (built in 1881) and, approximately 200 feet east, the stone footings of the building that once housed the original William Newby gristmill. 

If you look closely across from 345 NW Star Mill Way at the western edge of McMinnville City Park, a brick wall 24 feet long can be seen. It is the thickness of two bricks laid across the wall in common bond. This arched opening is what remains of the flume which is lined with large black-grey stones mortared together. The flume runs downhill about 150 feet and is difficult to identify as it is often overgrown with blackberry bushes and other vegetation. The ditch is still partially visible today through the neighborhoods north of 2nd Street.

For images of the the property, and further details, check out the link below:

                                                                 Historic Resources Inventory Documentation