Potter's Mill

LocationSouth and 2nd St.
Bellevue, Iowa

Coordinates42°15′3″N 90°25′36″W / 42.25083°N 90.42667°W

Built1843

ArchitectE.G. Potter, John Gammel


E. G. Potter's Jasper Flour Mill
U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Potter's Mill, Bellevue, Iowa
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Location	South and 2nd St. Bellevue, Iowa
Coordinates	42°15′3″N 90°25′36″W / 42.25083°N 90.42667°W / 42.25083; -90.42667
Built	1843
Architect	E.G. Potter, John Gammel
NRHP reference No.	84001257^[1]
Added to NRHP	April 19, 1984

Potter's Mill is a tavern and bed and breakfast establishment located in Bellevue, Iowa. The structure was formerly a gristmill, being the oldest in the state of Iowa, and as such it has earned national recognition. Potter's Mill is on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as being named a point of interest in the Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area.

Elbridge Gerry Potter first came to the Bellevue area in 1843 from New Lebanon, Illinois. Potter had been searching for a place to locate a flour mill, and came to decide on Bellevue for the location. Potter and local millwright John Gammel built a mill on what became known as Big Mill Creek. They used limestone from the nearby bluffs to build the mill and a nearby dam. Timber came from nearby areas. At first the mill was powered by an overshot waterwheel located along the southern side of the mill. The total cost to build the structure at the time was about $40,000.

By 1845 the mill was in operation. Potter had customers in many major central and eastern U.S. cities, and purchased the wheat from local farmers as well as farmers in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Potter later extended the dam in order to install six turbines that in turn operated six milling stones. Potter operated the mill until 1871, when he sold the mill to Kilborn and Company.

Kilborn and Company operated the mill for the next ten years. In 1881, they sold the mill to Arnold Reiling. The mill was damaged by a flash flood on May 24, 1896. In the aftermath the spillway was replaced by a 35 horsepower (26 kW) Atlas steam engine. Reiling and his family owned and operated the mill for the next 38 years before they decided to sell the property. Over the next few years, several different parties owned and operated the mill until it was purchased by the Dyas family in 1931. The Dyas family continued to operate the mill until 1969. Finally in 1969 the mill stopped producing flour.

The property was put up for sale at an auction in 1980. Daryll and Carolyn Eggers purchased the structure at this auction, and set about restoring the mill. In 1985 they opened Potter's Mill as a B&B/Event Center. After years of running the business, the building was finally put up for sale.

In August 2014 the building reopened as "Flatted Fifth Blues and BBQ at Potter's Mill" and "The Inn at Potter's Mill."^[2]

Flatted Fifth Blues and BBQ closed on December 31, 2023, and was replaced by The Tavern.^[3]

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v t e National Register of Historic Places in Jackson County, Iowa
Andrew	Nathaniel Butterworth House DeFries House, Barn and Carpenter Shop Insane Asylum at the County Poor Farm Jackson County Jail Thomas Slye House
Baldwin	Henry Lubben House, Smokehouse and Springhouse Mill Rock School Mrs. Margaret Sieben House
Bellevue	Bellevue Commercial Historic District Bellevue Herald Building Big Mill Homestead Building at 101 North Riverview Street Building at 126 South Riverview Street Building at 130–132 North Riverview Street Building at 306 South Second Street Dyas Hexagonal Barn George Dyas House William Dyas Barn Fritz Chapel House at 505 Court Street Jackson County Courthouse Kucheman Building Lock and Dam No. 12 Historic District Theodore Niemann House and Spring House Paradise Farm E.G. Potter's Jasper Flour Mill Robb House and Spring House Henry Roling House Spring Side Upper Paradise
La Motte	Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Narrow Gauge Depot-LaMotte Harris Wagon and Carriage Shop
Maquoketa	D.H. Anderson Building D.H. Anderson House Bassnett-Nickerson House George Cooper House Cundill Block Decker House Hotel First National Bank Milton Godard House Hotel Hurst Hotel Hurst Garage House at 111 E. Maple Street A.A. Hurst House Hurstville Historic District IOOF Building Mrs. Lydia Johnson House John Lake House Lyon Block Maquoketa Caves State Park Historic District Maquoketa Commercial Historic District Maquoketa Company-Clinton Machine Company Administration Building Maquoketa Free Public Library Dr. G.S. Martin House Merrero Building Mitchell-Maskrey Mill New Era Building Alexander Organ House Perham House C.M. Sanborn Building J.E. Squiers House W.B. Swigert House Henry Taubman House West Pleasant Street Historic District Seneca Williams Mill Anson Wilson House
Sabula	John S. Dominy House Savanna–Sabula Bridge Jeremiah Wood House
St. Donatus	Gehlen House and Barn Village of St. Donatus Historic District
Springbrook	Kegler Gonner Store and Post Office
Unincorporated areas	Canton Canton School Central School Garryowen St. Patrick's Church-Garryowen Otter Creek St. Lawrence Catholic Church Van Buren Township Polygonal Barn, Van Buren Township
See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Jackson County, Iowa and List of National Historic Landmarks in Iowa

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