Clifton Mill

We decided we would go up tonight to see the lights at Clifton Mill, near Yellow Springs. It’s a stunning display centered around the historic red mill. located beside the Little Miami River. So we stayed home in the morning, and then left early afternoon to fit in a walk through Clifton Gorge and along the Little Miami River, before going to the light display which started at 6 pm. Clifton Mill is one of the largest water-powered grist mills still in existence. The first mill at this site was built in 1802 by Owen Davis, a Revolutionary War soldier and frontiersman miller. The mill was built in this location to take advantage of the natural power of the concentrated water funneled into the gorge. Owen Davis and his son-in-law, General Benjamin Whiteman also built a saw mill and a distillery. Soon a village known as Davis Mills sprang up. The Little Miami River powered five other mills that were built within a mile of Historic Clifton Mill: a woolen mill, saw mill, paper mill, barrel mill and another grist mill. Clifton Mill is the only one still standing.
The Mill has been celebrating the Christmas season with their light display for 32 years, developing it over the years to the spectacular sight you can see today, with over 4 million light illuminating the mill, the gorge, the riverbanks, trees and a covered bridge. I have put a couple more photographs in extras. Numbers were limited and masks mandatory. It was a cold night however, so we were glad to get back into the car and warm up, and enjoyed some Indian take-away when we got home! After that we enjoyed a game of Taboo, involving much laughter and hilarity!