CLIFTON MILL

The first mill at this site was built in 1802 by Owen Davis, a Revolutionary War soldier and frontiersman miller. The mill was built in this location to take advantage of the natural power of the concentrated water funneled into the gorge. Owen Davis and his son-in-law, General Benjamin Whiteman also built a saw mill and a distillery. Soon a village known as Davis Mills sprang up around the mills. The Little Miami River powered five other mills that were built within a mile of Historic Clifton Mill: a woolen mill, saw mill, paper mill, barrel mill, and another grist mill. Historic Clifton Mill is the only one still standing... Around 1810 Davis sold his grist mill to Robert Patterson, father of the founders of NCR. Patterson renamed the village Cliff Town, had it surveyed into lots and officially made a town whose name was shortened to Clifton. Clifton grew rapidly and at one point had a population three times that of today with blacksmith shops, a butcher shop, two churches, a..

Primary location: Clifton United States