The Meneley Mill Site, Vermilion County, Illinois

The cultural landscape of east-central Illinois consisted of a range of settlement types during the pioneer and frontier periods, and while archaeological sites representing habitations are relatively abundant, sites representing commercial and industrial activities are less common. Recent investigations at the Meneley Mill site in Vermilion County near the community of Potomac provide a glimpse of an early to mid-nineteenth-century industrial site. Results of recent field and archival investigations at the mill site are presented, as well as a discussion of the role of mills during the pioneer and frontier periods. Primary sources consist of archaeological features and artifacts from the site, historic maps and atlases, and census data. Secondary sources include county histories, studies of the historic distribution of mills in Illinois, and the role of mills in nineteenth century society and economies.