I Saw That.

Sturgeon's Mill. An all Steam lumber mill.

Darrick's long time friends own this mill, and have worked the mill in it's prime. They open the mill up for a demo about 4 times a year. It was perfect weather, and a perfect day. It was really wonderful. Reminded me of my Grandpa Leo's garage in some way.

Considered one of the last great mills of its kind, this mill has survived since 1914. It was originally built in the 1880s on the Korbel property near the Russian River. It was passed to Mr. Michael Sugarman, of the hardware store on 4th Street in Santa Rosa, and later to Mr. Meeker, for whom Camp Meeker is named.

It was purchased from Meeker by Wade Sturgeon in 1913 and was dismantled and moved to Sturgeon’s Coleman Valley site where Sturgeon began his lumber business in 1914. The mill was moved again to its current site in Occidental in 1924 where it has since remained. In 1943 Wade’s son Ralph Sturgeon and his friend James Henningsen bought and ran the mill. Now, in an effort to preserve this wonderful piece of history, this restoration project has been born

Mill Link Click Here

This is Bob Sturgeon. He started working at the mill full time when he was 12 years old.