Thorp Mill, Historic watermill in Thorp, United States.
Thorp Mill is a four-story wooden gristmill built in 1883 by Oren Hutchinson on the Yakima River in Thorp, Washington. Its water-powered wheels drove both the North Star Mill and a nearby sawmill. The mill retains its original stone burrs brought by wagon from The Dalles, Oregon, and steel roller burrs installed in 1895 after the Northern Pacific Railroad arrived. It now serves as a museum and interpretive site.
James L. Mills built a sawmill on the Yakima River in 1879; in 1883 Oren Hutchinson's North Star gristmill began grinding wheat for Kittitas Valley farmers. The four-story mill, known for its "Tip Top" flour, closed in 1946 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 23, 1977.
The mill's best-known flour brand was "Tip Top", and the four-story building also served as a hub for community activities in Thorp. The Thorp Mill Town Historical Preservation Society, started by a handful of Thorp High School alumni, now runs the site as a museum with tours and annual fundraising events.
The mill museum is located at 11640 Thorp Highway North and is easy to reach from Interstate 90 by taking Exit 101 and heading north. The property sits directly along the highway, making it simple to find and visit.
The mill's water wheel also powered a 40-horsepower dynamo from 1907, giving Thorp electricity for laundering clothes two mornings a week and for lighting homes a few hours each evening. This made it one of the first towns in Washington with electric light and the smallest unincorporated town in the Northwest to have it.
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