While waterfall hunting in Wisconsin several weeks ago, I came across a rather interesting historic site.  The Old Rock Mill and Museum is located near the town of Maribel, WI.  Visitors can access the site by exiting I-43 at State Route 147.  A mile or so east, turn north onto County Road R.  Drive past the entrance to the Maribel Caves County Park and watch on the left for an old mill site.

The Old Rock Mill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  The mill is one of the oldest in Manitowoc County and is remarkably well-preserved.  The mill’s period of usefulness began around 1825 and processed rock from the surrounding canyon and bedrock.  The mill is located on top of a section of the Niagara Escarpment, the same formation that creates Niagara Falls in New York State.

Aside from the historic buildings, the mill site sits at a very picturesque location.  The Devils River cascades across a rocky riverbed through the mill site.  My Wisconsin Gazetteer noted a waterfall at the mill site.  I am not completely sure that I photographed the actual waterfall.  The water was so high and I was not quite sure about property access, so I only took a picture of the drop that accompanies this blog post.  It seems completely possible that there is a much larger cascade further upstream.

The Old Rock Mill is privately owned.  It is a part of a campground area.  The owners, however, operate a museum in the mill buildings, so there is good public access.  When I visited, however, the museum and site were closed for the winter.

This is not a location to go terribly far out of the way for.  However, the Maribel Caves are very close by.  And Manitowoc County contains many sites of interest to the nature and history lover.  These can be combined with the Old Rock Mill for a pleasant visit.

Here is the location on Microsoft Virtual Earth:

http://tinyurl.com/5babvs

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