Barron Flour Mill

The Barron Flour Mill, owned by the Joseph Barron family for almost a century and now owned by MaryJane Butters, is the only intact flour mill remaining on the Palouse. Flour mills, all similar in size and function to the Old Mill, were built in the 1870 to 1910 period in two dozen Palouse communities, in both Whitman County, Washington, and Latah County, Idaho. Now only the Oakesdale mill remains, the best preserved flour mill in eastern Washington.

Oakesdale's Old Mill was built in 1890, and purchased by Joseph Barron, Sr. in 1907. He improved and maintained the intricate machinery - built of hardwood and steel - that cut, ground, separated and bagged a selection of flours and animal feeds.