Yates Mill is a fully restored, circa 1756 gristmill located south of Raleigh, North Carolina. It is one of the oldest buildings in Wake County, is the region's only surviving operable gristmill. For nearly 200 years the water-powered mill produced lumber, milled corn and wheat, and carded wool. The land on which the mill is situated was surveyed for Samuel Pearson in October 1756, and granted to him by the Earl of Granville, one of the North Carolina colony's Lord Proprietors. The original mill was built around at that time.
The mill was operated until 1948. In 1963 North Carolina State University acquired the property, consolidating it into a larger tract to be used as an experimental farm. In 1996, Yates Mill Associates and Wake County Parks, Recreation and Open Space unveiled a public-private partnership to rehabilitate the dam and mill as part of a 574-acre historic and environmental park.
The mill is open for demonstrations and the park is a great place to hike and take pictures. Find more information at this link.
