LOUDONVILLE, Ohio–Mohican Wildife Weekend 2015 concluded Sunday when Wolf Creek/Pine Run Grist Mill ended its day. The Loudonville mill was the farthest site for the weekend’s event and consistent with the event’s theme, Face Your Wildest Fears, representatives from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) were on hand to tell visitors about Ohio’s snakes.
ODNR Information and Education representative Jamie Emmert and State Wildlife Investigator Brian Banbury found an engaged audience of approximately 60 adults and children eager to learn and share about Ohio’s snakes.
Identifying snakes’ unique characteristics as a species came easily to the audience. After a participant identified that snakes are cold-blooded, Banbury asked if anyone knew what that meant.
“Not nice,” said one child, drawing laughter from the audience. After Banbury explained that snakes are poikilothermic, they adapt to the temperature surrounding them. Emmert said there are 23 snake species in Ohio.
The mill and the site’s overlook trail also drew the day’s visitors.
“This was actually the Wolf Mill that sat north of Loudonville from 1831 till the 1950s,” Mark Smith said. “When the state was straightening out Route 60, they wanted it moved or torn down.” It was moved to its current location on Route 3. But it had no equipment inside the building and there were no windows and doors. It has now been restored to working condition and the site also holds a number of period log buildings including a cabin, corn crib, and smokehouse.
“The reason it’s called the Pine Run is because mills were always named after the people who owned the mill or the river it sat on,” said Smith. “So it was Wolf’s Mill originally because that was Mr. Wolf and then it became Pine Run when they moved it here.”
According to an Ashland news story, a William B. Wolf, a traveling salesman, purchased the mill sometime after it was damaged in the 1913 flood. Earliest records attribute it to Isaac Meanor.
The restored mill holds some equipment from the extant Rummell Mill of Benedict Road in Butler.
Smith, of Norwalk, is the founder and president of the Friends of the Wolf Creek Grist Mill Group, a 100 percent volunteer group that operates the mill. As a historic restoration contractor, Smith appreciated the mills history.
Located on 50 acres of Mohican State Park the mill site is leased from the state. They also own adjacent property. The site offers trails, and the overlook trail provides a steep climb for ambitious hikers, though a trail running parallel to Pine Creek is also an option.
Learn more from their website.
