Tulsa World: The grind of time

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The grind of time
Nonprofit group seeks to restore pre-Civil War site

A nonprofit group is attempting to raise about $2 million to restore this Delaware County mill that dates from before the Civil War. Courtesy

By RHETT MORGAN World Staff Writer
Published: 10/26/2009 2:20 AM
Last Modified: 10/26/2009 3:45 AM

FLINT — Glenn Stinchcomb has a nostalgic attachment to the old Beck Mill in southeastern Delaware County.

As a child in the mid-1930s, he and his family used to tote corn there to be ground for meal.

"I may never live to see that thing restored, but future generations ought to see it," said Stinchcomb, who lives in Dallas.

To that end, he and others formed in 2004 the Beck-Hildebrand Mill Museum Association, a nonprofit that vowed to restore the mill to its former luster. Destroyed by a flood more than a century ago and rebuilt in 1907, the structure in its original form pre-dates the Civil War.

"There's a lot of history there," said Glenn's brother, Ray Stinchcomb, a Catoosa resident who heads the association.

Today, only about 25 percent of the building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, remains standing.

Cables tethered to the structure keep it from falling down, and a tarpaulin protects a portion of the mill from the elements. Inside, broken glass and tattered shingles mingle with worn machinery belts. Buried beneath silt lies a turbine estimated to weigh six tons, Ray Stinchcomb said.

"It's not very impressive to look at it, is it?" he said as he showed the remnants of the structure to a Tulsa World reporter.

The mill's storied history began with its construction in 1845 on Cherokee Nation land.

A "race" to channel water from Flint Creek was carved through sandstone, and corn and wheat millstones were ordered

from France. The millstones were shipped to New Orleans, up the Mississippi and Arkansas rivers and hauled over land by oxen to Flint Creek.

A German immigrant, Peter Hildebrand, established the mill as a flour mill in 1852. He expanded the race and added a saw mill prior to the Civil War.

A flood washed out the mill in 1892, and it was re-erected by Aaron Headin Beck 15 years later. A water turbine ordered from Rome, Ga., powered the grist and saw mills until 1935, when grist milling stopped and a gasoline engine was installed to continue sawmill operations. The sawmill cut its last lumber in 1967.

The entire structure was still standing when Glenn Stinchcomb began trying to acquire the land in 2000.

But the roof developed a leak, hastening wood rot and leading to a collapse of most of the structure. The association acquired lands related to the facility — including 20 acres donated by Ina Beck of Bixby — in 2004, Ray Stinchcomb said.

"We have timbers that will restore it if we can get enough money to do it," said Glenn Stinchcomb, the treasurer of the nonprofit group. "We had a choice of going ahead and letting it fall down and forgetting it, or trying to see if somebody could raise enough money."

The museum association is seeking about $1.84 million for the restoration, including half a million for mill reconstruction and $350,000 to purchase the Flint School site.

Ray Stinchcomb said he will talk about a list of priorities for the project in a Nov. 5 meeting with members of the Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism team.

Travis Owens is senior project manager of cultural tourism for the tribe. He said that, although the mill is on a list of sites the tribe would like to see preserved, the Cherokee Nation has made no financial commitment to the project.

The museum association is doing its part. Archaeological, architectural and historical studies have been done on the project, Ray Stinchcomb said. Security fencing has been installed around the site, and salvageable material and machinery have been put away for safekeeping, as they await a rebirth.

"Maybe somewhere down the road, we'll find some people with enough interest in it," Glenn Stinchcomb said.

Rhett Morgan 581-8395
rhett.morgan@tulsaworld.com By RHETT MORGAN World Staff Writer

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	Report Comment Few Clothes, America (10/26/2009 10:21:34 AM) Keep your nose to the grindstone.
	Report Comment my view, Sand Springs (10/26/2009 9:22:58 AM) I have no problem with them trying to rebuild this mill as long as it's with private money. The building looks almost like the one they have at War Eagle in Arkansas. That's a privately own mill that makes a ton of money. There is a market out there for fresh ground flour and corn meal.
	Report Comment Ric, Broken Arrow (10/26/2009 9:57:20 AM) I would think that the Cherokee's (casino profits) could contribute to the restoration.
	Report Comment Centrist, the burbs (10/26/2009 3:04:03 AM) It looks like a sinkhole to be putting money into. I realize it is historic but it looks pretty far gone with not being maintained. I would think you could build a replica for less money than the restoration and it would last a lot longer.
	Report Comment Oldfatdude, Shàngdu (10/26/2009 8:52:03 AM) Glenn Stinchcomb? Beck Mill? Glenn Beck? IT A CONSPIRACY! He wants your money for a smear campaign! Just kidding. If private individuals want to spend their money on this project, so be it. But I think there are more worth-while projects this money could be spent on. Open a free clinic somewhere. Open a teen/preteen center to help divert potential gang members. There are a couple of suggestions for better usage of all that money. Nostalgia is overated.
	Report Comment Arbythree, Tulsa (10/26/2009 8:18:54 AM) I tend to agree with you Centrist.
	Report Comment jmaker43, Claremore (10/26/2009 12:55:28 PM) I tend to agree with myview, and Ric. I watched the news the other night they were talking with a person from Cherokee Nation asking why did they accept stimulis money because of the money generated from the casinos. The answer was since Cherokee Nation is their own government they don't collect taxes they have to have businesses and 70% of the profits go back into the businesses. Now if like myview said there is a huge market for fresh ground flour & corn meal why don't they look into that and see if it is a money maker? Not only would they save a peice of history, they would make money and create jobs!
	Report Comment 007, Tulsa (10/26/2009 7:36:23 PM) "The grind of time" That headline is just loaded.
	Report Comment sharpokie, Encinitas (10/26/2009 9:45:18 PM) I like it...seems that anytime you can preserve such a piece of history, you should do all you can to make it happen. And for commenter, oldfatdude, perhaps nostalgia is over-rated for you, but many people learn from history and put credence in the ability to pass on to future generations things learned and experienced from the past. It seems that concept is lost on you. History teaches us a lot about respect and individual responsiblity. Perhaps if a few more students learned more valid history in school, there wouldn't be as much gang crime nor folks who attend "free clinics" simply because they are used to living off the efforts of others.
	Report Comment cowboytimothy, (10/27/2009 9:13:40 AM) Lots of history along the Flint Creek area. I wrestled with bigfoot on that creek once years ago, late at night after a beer bust.
	Report Comment Libs-R-Us, (10/27/2009 12:09:16 AM) Bulldoze it.

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