The Cedar Hill Improvement Partnership (CHIP) is one step closer to saving the Cedar Hill Mill, erected in 1847.
Members from CHIP petitioned the Jefferson County Planning and Zoning Commission to rezone the mill, 8460 Wolf Road, from single-family residential to a planned mixed zone. The petition also included a development plan for parking on the property.
The P and Z commission voted unanimously June 13 to recommend approval of the rezoning and the development plan. The commission advises the Jefferson County Council on land-use issues in unincorporated areas. The County Council, which has the sole authority over rezoning, will consider a resolution to approve the rezoning request and development plans at a future meeting.
CHIP formed in 2023 to make “significant improvements” to the Cedar Hill community, said Jim Terry, a founding member of CHIP and a former Jefferson County District 7 councilman.
“Our goal is to restore (the mill) to its former glory as part of a multistep plan,” Terry said. “It was constructed by the Radeackar family of Cedar Hill, and the descendants, of course, own the Radeackar grocery store in Cedar Hill. It was originally a gristmill and later produced pet food and ice. Today it sits empty.”
Jim and Jeannie Lalumondiere purchased the mill in 1983 to restore it. The Lalumondieres also purchased and restored a mill in Byrnesville, now called the Lalumondiere Mill & Rivergardens, which is used as an event center.
Terry said the Lalumondieres were able to “shore up” the Cedar Hill Mill to a certain extent but were unable to restore it completely.
CHIP president Laura Massey said the Lalumondieres agreed to sell the mill to CHIP so the organization can restore it and open it to the public.
CHIP’s development plan includes 11 parking spaces near the mill to accommodate three future employees and visitors. Massey said CHIP intends to open a museum and gift shop at the mill after the acquisition and renovation is complete.
“When you Google Cedar Hill, all you see is the mill,” she said. “The Cedar Hill Hotel was about two blocks from there. It’s gone. We want to make sure you see (the mill) for generations to come. We would hate for it to be lost like a lot of our other historic buildings.”
Terry said few mills like the Cedar Hill Mill are left in Missouri, and even fewer have been completely restored.
He said Dillard Mill, built in 1908, serves as a good example of a fully refurbished, operatable mill in Missouri. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources maintains Dillard Mill, and most of the original machinery is still intact, according to the mill’s website.
“I hope what (CHIP) is doing in Cedar Hill is kind of what Dillard Mill did where they refurbished it, and they actually grind corn there for people to come and see how it works,” said District 6 commissioner Jessie Scherrer. “It’s really neat. (The Cedar Hill Mill) is something that needs to be saved, and I think it’s great what they’re doing.”
Massey said CHIP has organized a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the mill’s acquisition. To find more information, visit GoFundMe.com and search “Save the Historic Mill! Cedar Hill, MO.”
District 1 commissioner Danny Tuggle commended CHIP for its efforts to save the mill.
“It is something that we need to preserve, and the way they’re doing it, they have to raise all the money, and that’s a big step,” he said.