Smoky Mountain Mingus Mill Volunteers Needed

Smoky Mountain Mingus Mill Volunteers Needed. Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials are asking for volunteers to provide interpretive historic and orientation information to national park visitors at the historic Mingus Mill in the Oconaluftee valley. The mill is found a half mile north of the GSMNP Oconaluftee Visitor Center in North Carolina. Volunteers and millers will share insights on the unusual turbine wheel of Minus Mill and the historic role of milling in the Smoky Mountains.

Mingus Mill was built in 1886 and provided service for the residents of the Oconaluftee Valley. Visitors will get an up close look at the inner workings of the mill which could grind a variety of products including corn, wheat and rye. The turbine drive design produced cornmeal and flour in a fraction of the time needed by other area mills.

New volunteers are required to attend a training session on Friday, March 6, 2020 from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. The training will be held at the Oconaluftee Administration Building near Cherokee, NC. Volunteers should bring their own lunch.

Volunteers will get experience working alongside Great Smoky Mountains Association employees. Each volunteer is expected 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 the November.

If interested in this exciting volunteer opportunity, please call Park Resource Education Ranger Florie Takaki by phone at 828-497-1906 or by email at VOLUNTEER to reserve a space for training.