Mike Hocker, Executive Director of the Ohio Lincoln Highway Historic Byway, reports that while delivering Lincoln Highway travelers guides, he met Mike Van Doren and his wife Dawn, new owners of the old Dutch Mill east of Van Wert, Ohio. The couple did not at first realize the building’s historical significance but it, and the coast-to-coast road it’s on, now has them excited. The place was a “one-stop” for gas, food, and lodging in the 1920s, and a short section of original road remains on property from when the curve outr front was straightened.
The roof is leaking and needs about $25,000 to repair but the “bar” is still in there, and that’s one of the reasons they bought it. They will be having the BUY-WAY yard sale activities there (August 6-8). It surely is great to see someone wanting to preserve this stuff.
The Old Dutch Mill is at the junction of Middlepoint Road and old Lincoln Highway just east of Van Wert.
Lincoln Highway News 