The area called Bears Grass near Augusta, WI, required a lot of brush clearing and tilling to become productive farm land when the first pioneers settled the area in 1855. As more settlers arrived, the St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church was built in 1893.
Slightly over a hundred years later, the church was de-sanctified in 1996 because of declining church attendance and the need for extensive maintenance and repairs. It is now a private residence.
Church Faded into History
The Dells Mill near Augusta, WI is celebrating its 150th anniversary as it started milling wheat for farmers in 1864. When the wheat production moved westward, the owners refitted the building to mill flour and grind mill.
Built along the dells of Bridge Creek, the base of the mill was carved into the sandstone bedrock with water turbines powering the milling process. The original log dam was replaced with a concrete dam in 1919.
The fourth generation mill owner just passed away in August of this year so the future of this beautiful old mill is in question.
Dells Mill
