Peterson’s Mill

Location: Holland Street at Moore’s Creek, Saugatuck

About 1960 R. E. “Pete” Peterson, a retired engineer and U. S. Steel Co. executive from Gary, Indiana, bought land along Moore’s Creek between Holland Street and the Kalamazoo River for the construction of an “old” gristmill. He designed the clapboard mill building and water-turned wheel himself, and the building opened about 1965 as a gift shop that sold cornmeal and wheat flour which was ground on the premises. It closed as a commercial establishment in the 1970s but Peterson Mill, reflected in a picturesque millpond, is still a frequent subject of photographers and artists. The structure to the rear incorporates some architectural features of the R. C. Brittain house of Saugatuck.