Magnolia Flouring Mills

Open Daily: Scheduled Tours Only

Explore how innovation, transportation, and community connections transformed the Magnolia Flouring Mills from a small town mill to a nationally recognized producer, capable of winning gold medals at two World’s Fairs! Built in 1834 by Richard Elson along the route of the Sandy & Beaver Canal, the Magnolia Flouring Mills remained in the Elson family for 171 years before being acquired by the Stark County Park District in 2005. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000, the iconic five-story red mill preserves the history of the small town, agricultural communities of rural Stark County. The 4.97-acre property in downtown Magnolia also includes a segment of the Sandy & Beaver Canal behind the mill, the water rights for the canal, and Dam #6. The Magnolia Flouring Mills will also serve as a trailhead for the future Sandy & Beaver Canal Trail and the Pleasant Valley Trail.

In 2021, Stark Parks embarked on a design process to look at how the Magnolia Mill site could be made more inviting and accessible to groups.  Landscape architect Environmental Design Group, and Exhibit Designers Split Rock Studios were hired to develop a master plan for the site to look at vehicle and pedestrian circulation, areas for group gathering and information, and a layout that would allow for special events and activities at the site to support the historic interpretation of the mill.

The team also proposed an elevator system within the mill that would give access to visitors like never before.  The process looked at options for exhibits that could withstand the conditions of the mill and developed some concepts to interpret the wide array of equipment, history and pure physics that make the mill such an interesting site to visit.  This project was 100% funded with a state capital grant, which previously allowed for the rehabilitation of the mill itself including a new roof, electrical work and painting the front of the mill.