Houlton Farm Planning Committee Meeting 2016-02-02

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began operation in 1888. The Houltons owned the mill until 1902, when William H. Houlton sold it to a proprietor from Minneapolis. It's likely that the mill and the related timber industry were already in decline at this point, and indeed the mill only remained open until 1910, when it finally shut its doors. This mill cut timber that was floated down the Mississippi from the large logging operations in the Bemidji area. During this time, the mill ran constantly and was operational during the day and night; the red barn on the property was even used to occasionally store timber. The logs were mainly white pine, though some fir and other species were invariably mixed in. Remains from the foundation of the sawmill are still present and visible today, as are pilings and other emnants in the river channels. A steamboat landing was located just to the south and the sawmill. This landing began operations in 1857, but there is little informatio 0 "gar its use. Just off the north side of the property, at the current location Orono Lake, there was a flour mill and sawmill/planing mil on and off beginning in 1851, while the first sawmill beg sawmill on the other side of the property, this mill (a ie p lumber that was brought in by horsecart. In the 18 pur 1 main railroad line in town in order to reach the mi s ti operational until 1912, when a flood washed out the beyond repair. In 1916, a small power pla replace( power to bring electricity to Elk River. Ting i A gravel pit was also established on the western edge of the farmfield, was open the fenceline served as a roadAmbsul e( main road. The remnants corner of the property.,A Apart from these more firewood. They including as. area on e d the Elk River at 104 -ent fl ills operated prations in 1 'ke the ming mills) han local �ks were built ft of the PM'River. The mills were damaged the flour mill and used hydroelectric ENWin the 1980s. JJW�960s. This pit, located on the N cades. The current path west of armhouse driveway and out to the some topography to the northwest r&Wily also used trees on the property for y downed trees, but occasionally felled living trees number of these trees came from the floodplain The farm was also irrigated from the nearby rivers. Throughout the 1900s, there were three irrigation intakes on the property. The first was located just east of the farmhouse along the Elk River, while the other two occurred on the southern side of the property along the Mississippi. These two intakes occurred to the east and west of what is now the eroded bank. These intakes provided water to the fields, which were irrigated first by boom and later by a central pivot irrigation system installed in the 1970s. While there are no drainage tiles throughout the field, there is a drainage system to the west of the farmhouse. A visible swale helped drain water from the fields into the Elk River. Friends of the Mississippi W.H. Houlton Conservation Area NRMP