Title	Reding's Mill, with steel bridge
Title-Alternative	Streams and Rivers 12
Identifier	JPL10_551_317_a_A
Creator	Unknown
Contributor	Simpson, Leslie. Post Memorial Art Reference Library
Publisher	Joplin Public Library
Description	When John S. Reding settled in Newton County, Indians outnumbered white men. His first grist mill, built on Shoal Creek in 1832, provided a social center as well as a place for homesteaders to grind their grain. Reding founded Shoalsburg, a small village that failed to grow into the city its founder envisioned. As Reding prospered, he replaced the small mill with a larger one in 1854. Then the Civil War hit, and the area suffered devastating raids by both armies. Many pioneer families fled south to Texas. According to local folklore, Reding's sympathies lay with the South. Union officers sent soldiers to destroy the mill; however, the men mistakenly burned another mill on Shoal Creek-that of a Union sympathizer. Oops! In 1868, Reding erected the picturesque mill shown on these postcards. The mill, which took two years to construct, was anchored with huge iron pins drilled into the solid rock beneath the creek's flow. It stood four and a half stories high above a one and a half story basement. Burr oak timbers framed the structure-every piece dovetailed and joined with wooden pegs. Its oak siding, never painted, weathered to a rustic-looking reddish brown. The charming mill was one of the most photographed structures in southwest Missouri. In 1912, the Shoalsburg milling plant, with an output of 100 barrels of flour daily, maintained a reputation for the high quality of its product. John Reding had died by this time, and his son Matthew continued the enterprise, in partnership with Albert Clark. In 1926, Reding's Mill, Inc. began developing a posh resort on acreage surrounding the mill and sprawling on both sides of the creek. The elaborate grounds included a golf course, swimming pool, boating facilities, horseback riding, fishing tennis, playgrounds, a riverside board walk, commercial center, the Broad Lawn Inn, a casino, dance hall, and residences (permanent homes as well as rental cabins). The old mill was being restored as a clubhouse for the golf course. Tragedy struck in November of 1932, however. Bags of sulphur, which had been stored in the mill's basement for use on the golf greens, ignited and burned the old wood structure to the ground. The one-lane steel bridge shown on the first postcard was torn down in 1930 after a new steel-reinforced concrete span was completed. The $60,000 415-foot long viaduct accommodated a twenty-foot wide roadway plus a five-foot wide pedestrian walkway. Four 30-foot arches and three 90-foot arches supported the roadbed. Civic leaders dedicated the Reding's Mill (Highway 86) bridge to the memory of John Malang, Joplin's indefatigable activist for road construction. They christening it by smashing an expensive bottle of imported Italian "Pora Brut " champagne on the side. Although the venerable bridge was replaced by a new one in 2001, efforts are underway to preserve it as part of a nature trail and bird sanctuary near Wild Cat Park. Sources:Brothers, Kit. "Preparing for guests at the inn." Joplin Globe. March 2, 1986.Gibbons, Charles. Angling in the Archives. Joplin: H. Lang Rogers, 1996.Kennedy, Wally. "A Lot of change." Joplin Globe. March 12, 2001.Livingston, Joel T. A History of Jasper County and Its People. Chicago: Lewis, 1912. "Reding's Mill in the Ozarks." Joplin: Reding's Mill, Inc., n.d. [between 1926 and 1929] "The Way We Were." Joplin Globe. May 21, 1998. "The Way We Were." Joplin Globe. July 12, 2000.
Subject	Reding's Mill (Joplin, Mo.);
Language	English
Date-Creation	1910
Date-Current	8/5/2004
Type	Postcards
Collection Name	Joplin Historical Postcards
Source	From the collection of Galen Augustus
Coverage	Missouri -- Jasper County -- Joplin; Missouri -- Newton County -- Joplin;
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Contributing Institution	Joplin Public Library (Joplin, Mo)
County	Jasper County (Mo.) Newton County (Mo.)
Copy Request	Contact Joplin Public Library at 417-624-5465, or email jpl@joplinpubliclibrary.org