Plan for Bollinger Mill includes river dredging

A plan to spruce up the Bollinger Mill State Historic Site was unveiled Thursday by Missouri Department of Natural Resources officials in Burfordville.

The plan calls for dredging the river below the dam, constructing an open shelter in the picnic area and tearing down an old building on the property.

The project requires legislative approval and has no definite timeline.

Dredging the river is essential to remove the buildup of sediment and islands that have formed at the slow-moving dogleg in Whitewater River, said officials.

"Really our goal is to just make it look nicer without having it just fill up again," said Jack Smoot, historical site administrator at the mill.

Smoot said the slow-moving water at the location has been both a blessing and a curse. "The water loses its ability to move silt there and it builds up, but that may also be why we still have our mill." During flood periods in the past, this same dogleg has channeled water away from the mill and saved it from deterioration, Smoot said.

Workers will skim a half-foot of sediment from the pool south of the covered bridge.

The project also calls for a picnic shelter capable of holding 40 people. The shelter will be wheelchair accessible and will have stone pillars designed to withstand flooding.

The former residence of mill workers at the site dates back to the 19th century. However, it has deteriorated badly in recent years and has only been used for storage since the early 1980s.

"This building really has no historic significance as it relates to the bridge," Smoot said. "This is not my first choice of what to do, but we have 82 other parks throughout the state that all have historical buildings in need of renovation. ...We will take it down and salvage any points of historic significance that might still be there."

The covered bridge, constructed in 1858, is one of only four remaining in Missouri. It spans 140 feet across the Whitewater River. The mill itself is a four-story stone and brick building built in the same era. It operates as a demonstration item for visitors.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245