Parker Mill County Park is located on Geddes Road just east of Dixboro Road on Fleming Creek, which a tributary to the Huron River. The paved Border to Border Trail B2B Trail passes through Parker Mill Park and connects the park to Gallup Park to the west.
There're old mills there. Parker Grist Mill: Built in 1873, Parker Mill is one of the historic treasures in Washtenaw County.
The park was named for the Parker family who built the grist mill in 1873 (see the mill's cornerstone, N. E. corner) over the foundation of Fleming's 1824 saw mill, which had "long since gone to ruin."
The grist mill is operable and contains original milling machinery left inside the mill when the Parker family ceased operation in 1958. The mill is open for public tours on Sundays in the fall, and group tours are available by appointment May through October.
Parker Cider Mill: Built in 1887, the building was originally used as a cider mill. Today, the building houses old equipment and interpretive signs; no cider pressing equipment remains.
There is boardwalk trail takes you under the railroad tracks out to a view of the Huron River (and the odor, faint though distinct, of the Ann Arbor sewage treatment plant).
The park is a good place to view wildflowers. It is in an alluvial floodplain, and it gets wet in the spring, but the boardwalk will keep your feet dry.
More information
- Parker Mill, GSWC
- 1984, July, Ann Arbor Observer, "The Parker Mill" by Sandra Shapiro, about the Parker home and mill
- 1987, July 7, Ann Arbor News, Metro section and page A6
- 1993, Feb. 9, Ann Arbor News, donation by Hoyt Garrod Post
- 1996, June 7, Ann Arbor News, "Refurbished Parker Mill Park Set to Reopen Saturday"
- 1996, Aug. 7, Ann Arbor News, Local section, "Trail Mix"
- 1996, Sep.24, Ann Arbor News, Connection section, "Milling About"
- 1956, Feb. 25, Ann Arbor News. "George Parker, Mill Owner, Dies"