Yates Mill is located approximately 8 kilometers south of Raleigh, North Carolina. Yates Mill is the inspiration for the Historic Yates Mill County Park in central Wake County. Decades after it was abandoned and left to rot, the park is now managed as a natural animal refuge.

Long Lived Yates Mills

Yates Mill is one of Wake County's oldest structures. It is the area's only operational gristmill. For nearly 200 years, Yates Mill was a water-powered lumber mill that milled maize and wheat and carded wool. In October 1756, Samuel Pearson surveyed the site on which the mill stands after receiving permission from the Earl of Granville. It was at this time that the first meal was constructed. Pearson proceeded to buy neighboring land, eventually amassing more than 600 acres by the time he died in 1802. Pearson's son many debts forced him to sell the mill and surrounding land at a sheriff's auction in 1819. For over 30 years, William Boylan purchased the property and attempted to modernize it. In the 1840s, Boylan built another sawmill.

Thomas Briggs, John Primrose, and James Penny formed a partnership and purchased the mill in 1853. The partners ran the mill for a decade before selling it to Phares and Roxanna Yates during the civil war. Yates Mill is one of the oldest structures in Wake County. It is the only operational gristmill in the vicinity. Yates Mill was a water-powered lumber mill that milled maize and wheat and carded wool for nearly 200 years. In October 1756, Samuel Pearson surveyed the property on which the mill now sits after receiving permission from the Earl of Granville. It was at this period that the first meal was created. Pearson proceeded to buy neighboring land, eventually amassing a landholding of more than 600 acres by the time he died in 1802.

Effects of Hurricane Fran

Due to a decline in demand, the ancient mill was closed in 1953. North Carolina State University bought the land ten years later with the purpose of developing it into an experimental enterprise. Yates Mill Associates was created in 1989 to renovate the mill, which had previously been utilized as a storage facility. When Hurricane Fran's floods overwhelmed its 250-year-old Stone dam in 1996, the mill was on the verge of being destroyed. The mill had undergone serious dilapidation and had been abandoned by 1999.

A New Beginning

The mill has been renovated, particularly the maize and wheat grinding machinery. There have been multiple coin grindings since it reopened to the public on May 20, 2006. The restoration was funded by donations from government organizations, North Carolina State University, foundations, corporations, and individual citizens. Wake County provides the park with the required personnel and assistance. Yates Mill has been classified as a historic landmark in Raleigh. The mill is always open for historic visits, and corn grinding demonstrations are given on certain days.