Lights Mill

According to various sources, the federal government constructed a mill on Lookout Creek near the southern boundary of Reflection Riding in 1803. One route of the Old Federal Road crossed the creek at or near this spot. Back in the early 1990's I had taken a canoe across the creek and explored briefly on the other side, finding the roadbed but little else. Today I was kayaking on the creek and decided to take another look.

Although it can't been seen from the creek, the roadbed is obvious, cut deeply into the earth as old roads tend to be. From the creek it bears away to the southwest, headed for a gap between the hills. It might be an interesting walk someday to follow the road and see where it leads--although I already know from Google satellite images that just beyond the hills are a massive railyard, Highway 11, and the Interstate.

I walked uphill and slightly upstream of the roadbed near the creek and quickly came upon some kind of old foundation that included stones, bricks, the remains of two iron bands of some sort. There are some flat sheets of iron, not much bigger than license plates, on the ground nearby. About 100 feet away, I found a sunken area that included a nice section to stone wall.