Did You Know - Just a little about Becks Mills

From the 1/21/1988 "Holmes County Farmer-Hub" 

Special to the Farmer-Hub by Lucille Lowe

In a recent letter, Nettie Henry of Nebraska requested a Did You Know? about 
the Mechanic Township Becks.  The following is written with references to the 
writing of W.E. "Pop" Farver and from your author's family memories.

Mechanic Township was the birth place of my Grandfather Mitten and I have 
gained much information first-hand many years ago as it was shared with me 
by generations of my ancestors: the Logsdons and the Mittens.  My roots run 
pretty deep in Mechanic Township where both families settled in 1817 and 1824.

Becks Mills was once a thriving business community.  It had a large four-story 
grist mill, its own country store, a blacksmith shop, a flaxing mill and 
a machine for carding wool.

Naturally the history of Becks Mills dates back with the magnificently beautiful
Doughty Valley, so named for the strong Doughty Creek that flows through it.  
Doughty Valley, according to Lew Mitten, Harry Logsdon and "Pop" Farver was 
the most picturesque place in Holmes County.

The area has retained the beauty described over a century ago, largely due 
to the influence of the Amish who are the property owners in the valley.

Supposedly the Valley and Creek were named after Colonel Doughty, who was placed
in charge of the newly created land office in Zanesville.  It was his duty 
to see that applications of entry claims were forwarded to Washington D.C. 
and deeds were delivered to the new owners.

In 1822, Michael Beck, his wife Catherine Long Beck, and their sons emigrated 
to the Doughty Valley.  They came west in a covered wagon and camped for 
a few days on a level spot of ground near the ravine running down to what 
was to become known as Becks Mills from the north.

While there, they discovered a spring nearby, but soon found it to be a weak one.
A much stronger string was found by the pioneer Beck Family about a half mile 
through the woods east, near Doughty Creek.

After cutting a road through the dense woods, they brought their team of horses 
and covered wagon with all its contents to this spring.  Here they built their 
first log cabin and a stable for their horses.

To begin with, the Becks cleared some land and raised some crops, but Mr. Beck 
soon discovered that all his talent was mechanical and not inclined toward 
farming, so he built a dam across the "glens" and erected a saw mill.  
In all probability, Mr. Beck's saw mill was the first ever on Doughty Creek.

As a result of the saw mill, he converted timber into lumber and proceeded 
to build a larger frame house for his family.  This was in the early 1830's 
and the log house they had originally built was used for a much-needed school 
house for the children of the community.

Thus Michael Beck not only had the distinction of building the first house 
but also the first school house in the Beck's Mills area, along the Doughty.

In the early 1840s it is know that the senior Mr. Beck built a new house near 
a spring in what is now the village of Beck's Mills.  He also erected a large 
bank barn nearby.

In 1848, with the help of his now-grown sons, he built a larger dam across 
Doughty Creek at the southern end of the "glens".  They also constructed a 
"mill race" leading down into the village of Becks Mills.  He then began 
to build a four-story grist mill equipped with large stone burrs for grinding 
wheat into flour and for making corn meal.

In 1864, Beck bought the Aultman Hollow Grist Mill from two men named Yoder 
and Eash, and removed the equipment to his mill at Becks Mills.  Being 
a good business man, he acted on a hunch that customers would prefer to drive 
a few miles further rather than up and down the steep hills of the Doughty Glens
with their heavy loads.

This proved to be a good decision on Beck's part as customers could not only 
have their mill work done in Becks Mills, but could also get to his store, 
blacksmith's shop and post office - all on the same trip.

Old time lore dating back to Mechanic Township's early days along Doughty Creek 
says that at one time there was an average of one water wheel per mile along its
entire course from Berlin to its mouth in Clark Townshipo in Coshocton County,
where it empties into the Killbuck Creek.

The great Holmes County flood of 1913 washed out the big dam and put an end 
to the grist mill and the saw mill business.  During the years of 1830 to 1850,
hundreds of wagons with farm products of Holmes County passed through Becks 
Mills.  This was a time when farmers were most familiar with the village for 
it was known as a friendly place to stop.

However when the railroad came to Millersburg in 1854, nearly all activity and 
business came to a halt in Becks Mills.  From then on, the village became just 
an ordinary small hamlet along the roadside with its country store, blacksmith 
stop and grist mill in a peaceful setting.

Time marched on for the little hamlet in Holmes County and the time came when 
the grist mill was no longer in existance.

Today Becks Mills, on Holmes County Road 19, is again a thriving little village
with a good store, a busy saw mill, a small green house and beautifully kept,
neat, clean homes, buildings and lawns.  The little hamlet lives again both in 
prominence and beauty.