Mingus Mill is a half-mile north of Oconaluftee Visitor Center and the Mountain Farm Museum. Although in operation from the 1790s, the structure was rebuilt in 1886 as a state-of-the-art mill using a turbine manufactured by the James Leffel Company, a corporation still in business today. In other words, Mingus Mill has no water wheel. Water from the millrace powers a metal turbine that generates eleven horsepower, enough to both grind corn and operate the other mill machinery. During the summer a miller demonstrates the process of grinding corn, and cornmeal is available for purchase.
