Great Smoky Mountain Mingus Mill Volunteer Opportunity

Great Smoky Mountain Mingus Mill Volunteer Opportunity. National Park officials are asking for volunteers to provide informational tours of the historic Mingus Mill.

The mill is located one half mile north of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center near Cherokee, North Carolina. Participants will assist in educating national park visitors about the general role of milling in the Smoky Mountains. The unique turbine wheel at Mingus Mill is a special feature of interest. Instead of turning a wheel like the Cable Mill in popular Cades Cove. The mingus mill funnels water into a race which rises nearly forty feet in the air. From there it plunges down a box shaft and turns the turbine, which “in turn” powers the mill.

Mingus Mill, built in 1886, offers visitors a rare look into the inner workings of a mill that custom ground everything from corn to wheat or rye. This turbine-driven mill would custom grind cornmeal or flour in a fraction of the time needed by other types of mills. The efficiency and central location of the mill made it into a popular meeting place for local communities like Bradley town.

Volunteers will work closely with Great Smoky Mountains Association employees. Each volunteer is asked to work at least one, four-hour shift per week from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. during the peak visitation season from April through November. Interested persons will be provided orientation and training before beginning at the mill.

New volunteers are required to attend training on Friday, March 23, 2018 from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm. The training will be held at the Oconaluftee Administration Building near Cherokee, NC. A lunch break will be in the schedule. Please plan to bring a bag lunch.

If interested in this exciting volunteer opportunity please call to reserve a space for training. For questions or to receive more information, please contact Park Resource Education Ranger Florie Takaki by phone at 828-497-1906 or by email at florie_takaki@nps.gov.