Graue Mill
Oak Brook, Illinois

The historic Graue Mill is located on Salt Creek in Oak Brook, Illinois. Originally owned and operated by Frederick Graue in 1852, today Graue Mill is the only operating waterwheel gristmill in Illinois, and one of only three authenticated Underground Railroad stations in the state.It took five years to construct the Mill, using bricks made from clay taken from the Graue farm and fired in a kiln near the site, and white oak timbers cut from a tract along the I & M canal near Lemont. The four huge one-ton buhrstones used for grinding were imported from the coast of France. The large gristmill was finished in 1852 and was used to grind the wheat, corn and other grains produced by local farmers.

The Mill was a major center of economic life during the 19th century and was also used by Fred Graue to hide runaway slaves on their journey to freedom in Canada. President Abraham Lincoln reportedly visited Graue Mill during a trip from Chicago to Springfield. Three generations of the Graue family operated the mill for 60 years until modern milling methods rendered the old mill obsolete and the building was abandoned.

As a property of DuPage County Forest Preserve District, in 1934 the Mill was restored to the period of 1852-1868, the time the waterwheel was in operation. The mill was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in May 1975. And in 1981 was recognized as an Illinois Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers -- the only gristmill so designated on a national or local level, representative of an important technology and era in the history of America.

Graue Mill houses a museum that is open to the public, and sells cornmeal that is actually ground on site. The Mill is situated in the midst of Fullersburg Woods, providing scenic hiking paths and environmental education programs for local area residents.