The October 23rd, 1879 issue of the Northern Pacific Times reported that several loads of lumber had been transported to the site of a new flour and grist mill located six miles south of Valley City. One George Marsh was reported as the builder. George Marsh was the brother of Colonel L. D. Marsh, then the County Register of Deeds and one of the very first settlers, coming in 1874.
On February 26, 1880, the paper reported that George Marsh had about finished the dam on the Sheyenne River for his mill, and that James Sorenson had begun a dam for a mill fourteen miles south of the city.
Work went forward on the Marsh mill which was being built on land owned by Col. Marsh. Some difficulty was experienced in obtaining the machinery and the grinding stones, and carpenters were in great demand, so the construction was delayed somewhat.
The July 14, 1881 issue of the paper (now called the Valley City Times Record) reports that Col. Marsh expected to have his mill operating that week and would produce flour the equal of any of the best brands manufactured.
Col. Marsh apparently was very overoptimistic as the mill did not actually begin operation until December 9, 1881, with a reported "three run of stone" and "four sets of bolts or rollers." A master miller by the name of Sawden from Moorhead, Minnesota was hired to superintendent the milling operation and the mill produced the "Pride of the Sheyenne" flour.
The fluctuations in the level of the river made it impossible to operate the mill continually and the cost of installing steam power being prohibitive for a small mill, operations declined as the years passed. Competition from the large Russell-Miller Mill in Valley City forced lower prices and gradually the Marsh Mill ceased operation.
The actual date of the last milling is unknown. Some years later the mill building was moved some yards from the river and converted into a barn. The machinery was dismantled and the mill-stones left in the farm yard. One of the millstones is now in a private collection in Fullerton, North Dakota. The location of the other is unknown.
Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 321