Oehler's Mill - - - La Crosse, Wisconsin
The Oehler Mill site, located in an area known as Mormon Coulee, is six miles south of La Crosse, Wisconsin, in the Town of Shelby on County Road MM. The site stands as a compelling visual reminder of Wisconsin's milling and agricultural past. The stone mill was built in 1862, but the history of the site goes back further. The Oehler Mill still generates much local interest, as it was once a popular picnic destination. In addition to the mill, the site also contains a cave, stone dam, sandstone root cellar, two brick houses, park, creek, pond, artesian well, and family cemetery. The park used to contain a pavilion. Two German immigrant brothers Valentine and Gottfried Oehler constructed the mill complex. Their family's voyage to America is an example of a typical German immigrant experience in the 1850s. In 2002, the Oehler's mill was placed on the Wisconsin Trust for Historic Preservation's List of ten most endangered historic properties.
