Painter-Bernatz Mill
Enjoy this highlight of the Painter-Bernatz Mill in honor of Decorah’s 175th anniversary.
Located within Vesterheim’s Heritage Park, this building still stands on the original location it was built in 1851. Imagine all the changes it has seen!
The mill has a long and storied history. In 1851, William Painter, one of the first settlers of Decorah, built the original structure as a commercial flour mill. Shortly after, he enlarged it to its present size. The upper story was added in 1890. A millrace from a dam upstream on the Upper Iowa River brought water to power the turbine. Painter’s mill is a classic example of a factory mill – not just a grist mill. The building was designed to use the mill’s power to produce goods as quickly and efficiently as possible. Throughout its life, the mill ground many different kinds of grains, including rye, wheat, oats, corn, and barley. It changed hands several times until it ended with the Bernatz family.
The water power was replaced by diesel power in 1947 when the Army Corps of Engineers built the levee system. The mill continued to operate until 1964, mostly milling animal feed at the time. On July 4, 1971, it was dedicated as part of Vesterheim’s Heritage Park and now houses Vesterheim’s exhibits on agriculture and industry. The mill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated site in the Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area. Silos & Smokestacks is one of 49 federally designated heritage areas in the nation and is an Affiliated Area of the National Park Service.
For a more complete history, read The Painter-Bernatz Stone Mill, an article by Steven Johnson and James Hippen from a 2006 Vesterheim magazine.
And visit the mill on June 15 at 12:30 pm for a special Decorah anniversary tour! Find out more about Decorah anniversary activities.
The mill is often part of daily Heritage Park tours from May 1-October 31. Find out more about visiting Vesterheim.