Flour mills on the Rosebud. When the Rosebud Country was opened for settlement, many grains were experimented with as to what would be the best fit for the tough virgin soil. Hard red wheat seemed to thrive in the soil and provided a ready cash income for the homesteader and a means of providing the flour for the homesteader’s grain rich diet. Wm. Nollkamper had a mill on Eagle Creek, Nebraska (near Spencer). He was impressed with the wheat being grown in the Rosebud country. After some coaxing, and no doubt some cash incentives, the decision was made to move the mill to Gregory. The mill in Nebraska was still powered with water and stone burrs for grinding and was probably very inefficient for the volume he would need at Gregory. So the burrs and water were left behind.

In the new mill, the rollers would be steel corrugated, powered by a new Fairbanks Morse engine. Mr Nollkamper carried the scars on his hand to the grave from sharping the stone Burrs at the Spencer Mill. The mill was dismantled and freighted by team and wagon to Spencer Nebraska where it was loaded on the railroad and shipped to Gregory. The Gregory mill opened in 1908. It was located just east of Runnings back lot and behind Nemers apartments. It flourished until 1944 when it was struck by lightning and never rebuilt. The office of the mill still exists in Dallas in the west part of town. Gregory was not the only town with a mill. Colome also had one, and Winner did to, maybe Fairfax, and Burke, not real sure but sometimes you will run across an old sack from one of these local mills, that some homestead women did not get a hold of and wash the coloring out to make a dress.

Author Richard Papousek, October 2023