Vallejo Flour Mill, Historical flour mill in Fremont, California, US

The Vallejo Flour Mill in Fremont's Niles district was built in 1841 by José de Jesús Vallejo on Rancho Arroyo de la Alameda. A second mill, built in 1856, had a three-story building with a 30-foot overshot water wheel on its north side. Its stone foundation remains at Niles Canyon Road and Mission Boulevard in Vallejo Mill Historical Park.

Jose de Jesus Vallejo established the first mill in 1841 on his land to process grain for the growing population. A second building was constructed in 1856, showing that the demand for flour kept increasing.

The settlement around the mill was first recorded as Vallejo Mills, after the plat filed on 3 November 1869 by Plutarco Vallejo and surveyor Luis Castro, laying out 23 lots along Vallejo Street. In December 1869 the Central Pacific renamed its mill junction Niles, after its attorney Addison Niles, and the place name followed.

The ruins are located near Niles Canyon Road in Fremont and are easy to reach since they sit at the entrance of a well-known canyon. Visitors can explore the grounds on foot and view the historical remains from different angles.

The 1856 mill's overshot wheel measured 30 feet in diameter and 8 feet broad, with a 4-foot millstone, as reported in the Alameda County Gazette in January 1857. The mill cost $5,000 and could produce 150 barrels of flour a day. A watercolor by Carmelita Vallejo, the Vallejo daughter, records the three-story building and its wheel.