In the autumn of 1830, Henry Rudisill and Henry Johns erected a flouring mill on the right, or west, bank of the St. Joseph River in the southwest quarter of Section 36, Washington Township. At the time of the mill’s erection, it was located about three-quarters of a mile north of the village of Fort Wayne on what is now Spy Run Avenue, then known as the east branch of the Lima Road. The site of the mill is directly across the street from the present Indiana Service Corporation’s shops.
Henry Rudisill was born in 1801 at Lancaster, Pennsylvania and came to Fort Wayne as a representative of Barr & McCorkle, of Baltimore, Maryland, who prepared the original plat of the City of Fort Wayne.
This mill began operations with but one set of buhrs, which was increased in later years to four sets. The mill was generally known as the "Johns Mill,” until the death of Mr. Johns, when the sole ownership passed to Mr. Rudisill. Mr. Rudisill died February 6, 1858, and ownership of the mill passed to his son, H. J. Rudisill, Jr., who continued its operation until 1866, when he moved to California, leaving the operation of the mill in the hands of John E. Hill, Jr., who later formed the John E. Hill, Jr., Co.
From the time of its erection until about 1880 the mill was equipped with an over-shot wheel, after which Leffel and Little Giant wheels were installed. The mill produced about sixty-five barrels of flour per day and employed about seven men. During the flood of February, 1876, the dam was severely damaged but was soon repaired and the mill again placed in operation.
John H. Bass and Oscar Simons purchased the mill property November 4, 1879, and a few years later the Water Works Committee of the City of Fort Wayne recommended that the City of Fort Wayne condemn the property for its water rights but were restrained from doing so by the owners on September 11, 1884. The question of a new city water supply was a paramount issue at the time.
In the fall of 1887, Bass & Simons completed the rebuilding of the dam, placed heavy walls in the mill race and made other repairs to the property. On November 25, of the same year, the property was purchased by the Jenney Electric Light and Power Co., along with the entire canal feeder for the sum of $67,000.
The mill was shortly afterwards abandoned but the building was not demol- ished until early in the present century. One of the stone buhrs of this mill now reposes on the premises of the Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society Museum.
A photo for the wooden dam for Rudisill's grist mill, 1830-1850 on the St. Joseph River was published October 25, 1979 in
The News-Sentinel newspaperposted December 20, 2014 in the original Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne, Indiana page on Facebook. The post stated: Wooden dam on St. Joseph River: lower water uncovers wooden dam near saw mill of Henry Rudisill (1830-1850). Published in News Sentinel, 25 October 1979.
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An October 30, 2022 post with several color polaroid photos dated 1977 with similar views to the 1979 News-Sentinel photo were discussed on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook. Additional photos and comments by Randy Harter and others show where the dam is currently located near McDougal Avenue and St. Jospeh Boulevard. Using the 1979 photo showing a house with a sharp pitched porch roof and Google map Street View it appears the dam is located near 1820 St. Joseph Boulevard. One takeaway from this 1979 photo is that since the remnants of the Rudisill mill of the 19th centuary is currently underwater, the river today, thanks to the current Hosey dam further upstream, is deeper than it was in the past.
Father and son, Henry Wolf and Henry John, on pages 38-42, in Two Henry Rudisills by Shirley Poinsett Slater in the December 2017 Allen County Lines quarterly publication in the Membership section of the Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana website. It was reprinted from Henry J. Rudisill's Vineyard published in the 1871 Fort Wayne Sentinel newspaper.
A line drawing of the Rudisill Mill is shown on the cover of the 85-page Intensive Archaeological Survey for the Proposed Fort Wayne Flood Control Project at Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana Conducted for: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Detroit District Contract No. DACW35-88-D-0049 Delivery Order No. 0004 DTIC Selected Jan 30, 1990.CCRG Commonwealth Cultural Resources Group 6928. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA218222.pdf
Pages 73-74 - Erected in 1830, the Rudisill Mill continued in operation for over 50 years, into the 1880s. Historical documentation identifies it as being the second grist mill constructed in the Fort Wayne area. It's importance to the community at that time is in part suggested by the fact that much of its construction was reportedly carried out on a COE-oR-oo?6.CH? 73 volunteer basis by local farmers (Griswold 1917:606). As a technological variable this mill represents a significant phase marker in the transition of local economic adaptation patterns, from a forest procurement system based largely on the fur trade to a production oriented setting dependent on agricultural produce. Although initially based on local market production/consumption needs, the opening of the Wabash and Erie Canal during the late 1830s would have expanded the distribution potential of the mill's products to outlying marketing centers in the Great Lakes and Ohio River regions. This far flung distribution potential, in turn, would have had a discernable impact on local farm development as an economically viable pursuit. Whether or not access to outside marketing centers would have affected the financial arrangement of the Rudisill Mill operations, representing a potential transition from a custom to merchant mill status, is not indicated in the available published sources. In the same sense, while it is likely that the mill was a water-powered birdstone operation throughout its 50 year lifespan, the possible introduction of the iron-roller system of flour processing, in wide use throughout west Central Europe prior to 1840, is worth entertaining, considering Rudisill's concentrated efforts in fostering German immigration into the Fort Wayne community (Poinsatte 1969:55-56, 162)
Data provided in Poinsatte's study of Fort Wayne during the canal era contain specific indications of the availability of detailed accounts relating to Henry Rudisill's business activities. These could potentially provide more specific information relative to mill construction and operation features. At the time of Poinsatte's study (1969), these documents were reportedly in the possession of the Rudisill heirs (Poinsatte 1969:54). The availability of primary source documentation represents a critical research element associated with the Rudisill Grist Mill location, one not readily replicated in most preindustrial processing/production site situations. Additional archival work could potentially provide more specific information relative to mill construction and operation procedures. However, because of the disturbed nature of the site and the limited remains that were discovered, it is doubtful that further investigations would yield significant information. The majority of the remaining survey area also has been greatly disturbed by residential construction activities and landfill operations.
