Old Mill Lodge - Dillard, MO
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member YoSam.
N 37° 43.241 W 091° 12.384
15S E 658075 N 4176338
No ranger on site, and mill locked up when I visited
Waymark Code: WMMX37
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 11/18/2014
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member Geo Ferret
Views: 3
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County of marker Crawford County
Location of marker: Old Dilard Mill Rd., mounted on mill, Dillard
Marker erected: Missouri Department of Natural Resources

Marker Text:

Old Mill Lodge
The two-story house visible through the trees on the hill to the right became the nucleus for Lester Kiemme's Old Mill Lodge resort. Lodge guests, many of whom came from the St. Louis area, paid $7 per day and received meals in the house, swam and fished in the mill pond, and enjoyed the splendor of the northern Ozarks.

Klemme had four cabins built -- two small log ones near the house and two larger, clapboard sided ones near the mill on the hill to the left. The "honeymoon cottage" was the log cabin nearest the two-story houses. It is still standing.

After 30 years of operation the Old Mill Lodge closed in 1962 following the death of Lester Klemme's wife, Virginia.

History of Mark:
"Lester Klemme became the new mill owner in 1930. In addition to milling livestock feed and flour, he decided to take advantage of the rustic Ozark landscape by starting Klemme's Old Mill Lodge. A guest could spend the night in one of the cabins Klemme built, fish or swim in the mill pond, and eat at the Klemme table for only $7 a day.

Klemme's age and a shift in the local economy from farming to mining brought about the shutdown of the mill in 1956. He continued to operate the lodge until the 1960s. In 1974, the L-A-D Foundation of St. Louis, a non-profit organization, bought the property. In 1975, the foundation leased the mill and surrounding property to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to operate as a state historic site. Also on the property is a building that once housed a general store owned by Adam Wilhite."
~ Missouri Department of Natural Resources



Web link: Not listed

Additional point: Not Listed
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