History

The story of the mill is a story of American grit and perseverance, exemplified by its original founder William “Bill” Masters. A trailblazing farmer and businessman, Masters’ determination would aid in his early success and his ability to overcome devastation and rebuild on a larger scale.

Masters’ father a farmer and his grandfather the owner and operator of a corn and flour mill in nearby Red Hill, it wasn’t a surprise that Masters left school to join the family business. In 1920, at the age of 28, he built his own, three-story mill in Toecane. The railroad a fairly new fixture in Toecane, he also quickly negotiated a special tract to accommodate the mill.

An avid reader and “always thinking,” as one family member said, he’s also crediting with bringing the first electricity to Toecane and Bakersville. After learning about a Knoxville, Tennessee, company using water to generate electricity, he contracted with their electrical engineer to install a generator on the mill and begin producing power for area residents. He later sold the generator and electric system so he could focus on his aspirations for the mill. For 13 years, Masters successfully operated the mill at a capacity of 40 barrels of flour a day until it was destroyed by a fire in 1933. But that wouldn’t be the end of his story.

He immediately began rebuilding a short distance from the original, in Loafers Glory where Old Masters Mill stands today. A taller version than the first – now four stories – he also constructed a 15-foot high, 130-foot-long dam across Cane Creek. It was 5.5 feet thick at the base and 3.5 feet at the top. A 15-foot high steel overshot wheel would provide approximately 30 horsepower, increasing operating capacity to 50 barrels of flour, 5 tons of feed and 200 bushels of meal per day.

Among these and other achievements, Masters’ pioneering approach to life contributed to his owning the first refrigerator in Bakersville as well as applying the then-most-recent agricultural reports to his 73-acre farm. It’s the kind of story we all aspire to, and we’re honored to help keep Mr. Masters’ legacy alive in the name of our mill.