The Daily Record, Dec. 8, 1977, page 28

115-Year-Old Landmark Remains

Aultman Mill Stands As Reminder Of Earlier Times

by Clarence Troyer

CLARK - Aultman Mill, a 115-year-old landmark of Holmes County, still stands 
today, nestled in the hills between the villages of Becks Mills and Clark, 
complete with much of the equipment that made it hum with activity over 
a century ago.

Built in 1862, it is really the second woolen mill built in the area by the
Aultman family, who first settled the area in the 1830's when the family 
moved there from their first Ohio home in Strasburg.

The first of the family to emigrate to America was William Aultman, who boarded
ship from the Province of Alsace Lorraine, Germany in 1744 {1749} and landed 
on the coast of Virginia {no evidence for this} before moving to Westmoreland
County in Pennsylvania.

A Son, John, and his wife Elizabeth then moved to Strasburg and it was their son
Isaac and his wife Nancy who moved to Doughty Glens, five miles from the site of 
the present mill, because of the possible water power offered by the gorge-like ravine.

Small Empire

Isaac purchased a 40-acre tract of land for $175 from a Henry Miller and paid 
an additional $62 for a nearby water right over which the water from Doughty
Creek eventually ran through a mill race to both the saw and grist mills 
he soon built.

In 1840 Isaac began improving another water right a quarter of a mile downstream
where he began building the original wool mill.  However, it was not until 1845 
that machinery was installed and production actually began.

The mill became a family operation when Isaac was joined by sons George, John, 
Joshua and Elijah and several sons-in-law in the wool and grist mill production
as well as a store and blacksmith shop during the period from the 1830's to the
1860's, which earned the area the name, 'Aultman's Hollow'.  Today, many years
after the family made its mark, the area is known as 'Troyer's Hollow'.

Branching Out

Around 1852 members of the Aultman family became restless and began to go their
separate ways.  Sons John and Joshua are known to have moved to Iowa in 1854 
and soon the only son left at home was Elijah.  With his father Isaac, and 
a man named Detweiler, they kept the various mills and other projects going 
until 1862 when they sold the grist and saw mill and son George bought the 
wool mill and moved the equipment to the present site, where he constructed 
a new building to house the equipment that same year.

According to family records, the move was made to the new location, 
known as the 'Conrad Tract', because George's wife Peggy had inherited 
a portion of it, now part of Mechanic Township, from John Jacob Conrad.

Albert Aultman joined his father here in the manufacture, sale and delivery 
of woolen goods under the firm name of G.R. Aultman and Son.  Hazel Aultman 
George wrote many years ago that she remembered seeing her father, Albert, 
driving through the couuntryside in his horse-drawn van loaded with products 
made in the wool mill.

Modern Improvement

Originally run by water power, it was during Albert's time that a large boiler 
was installed to run the machinery by steam, because of the uncertainty of the
water power at certain times throughout the year.  There was also a threat of
floods that would damage the dam.  In fact it was damage to the dam that finally
put an end fo the saw mill business, according to records.

George and Albert continued to operate the woolen mill until around 1900.  
It was during the last years of operation that it became increasingly difficult
to meet the competition of the larger mills, which were able to produce faster
and cheaper, although the products were inferior to those made by the Aultman
Mill, and the Mill closed when father and son refused to compete on that basis.

The mill and surrounding land were abandoned in the early 1930's, and not until
July of 1961 was the property inhabited again.  It seems an ironic twist of fate
that a man named Miller sold the property to the Aultman clan, and it was also
a Miller that bought the land, 82.48 acres, 131 years later.

New Owners

Mr. and Mrs. John Miller of Berlin bought the property after he retired 
as a school teacher.  The farm was in quite run-down condition.  The land 
was covered with weeds and brush, fences were down and most of the windows
in the house needed repair.  Miller refurbished the place, and then after
the 1969 flood, had to do so again.

Miller has 13 head of cattle and hogs on the land and much of the farming 
is done on shares.

The long-abandoned Mill still stands, a testimony to the craftsmanship of the 
time it was first built.  Most of the foundation, made of large rectangular stones
neatly fitted together, is still intact, even with no mortar between the stones.

The Mill is a three story building with a basement under the portion where first
the water wheel was located, and then later the boiler.  On the first floor, 
business transactions were made, such as taking in the wool, placing orders 
and general bookkeeping.  The wool was also washed and made ready for spinning 
on this floor.

Step-By-Step

To do this, the wool was first washed in large vats with rain water, 
which was soft and free from minerals and sediment.  

The second floor can be reached by a ladder nailed to one wall.  Three carding 
machines, the first breaker, the second breaker and the finisher were all 
located on this floor, standing side by side.  The breakers removed seed heads
and other foreign matter from the wool and the finisher brought the wool out 
in sheets.  Although an exact date on the machines is obscured, it is believed 
they were made in Massillon around 1840, since most of the machines for the Mill
were purchased at that time.

A hand loom and spinning wheel were also located on this floor.

A stairway leads to the third floor and a 'warper', upon which patterns were 
made.  A number of other small machines are located here as well, including 
one that produced bundles of yarn.

Mill Products

The machinery in the Mill was adapted to make woolen cloth, stocking yarn and 
blankets and the Aultmans were widely known for their brightly colored woolen 
coverlets.  Mrs. Elmer Sowosh of Millersburg still has two of those coverlets,
purchased by her mother in 1894.

Today visitors to this landmark can still see traces of the dam and the mill race
that supplied the water for the wheel.  The mill race was simply a bypass of the
Doughty Creek.  It consisted of a ditch which extended from the creek to the dam
and from there to the saw mill and to the wool mill as well.  Also visible yet 
today is the depression in the ground where the water re-entered the Doughty Creek.

While cleaning out a shed next to the old saw mill, present owner John Miller 
found an old ledger dated March 16, 1864 through 1877, written by George Aultman.
In it are the prices for sawing in those days.  Sawing 20 feet to four by four 
sizes brought a total of 48 cents.  Sawing 116 feet of timber to two-and-a-half
by three foot sizes brought 46 cents.  Somewhat humble beginnings for an industry
that has grown as lucrative as the lumber business, especially in the current market.

Miller has recently sold some {of} the Mill's equipment to Frank Forrels of 
Maryland, who plans to restore it and put it to use, even after all these years.