As a member of the original settlers, Jonathan received Spanish land grant 301, where he constructed a Gristmill in 1801, one mile West of Daniel Boone’s home. This gristmill was used to process wheat and flour being planted in the Femme Osage Valley. The gristmill operated until the 1880s when it was converted to a barn. It has recently been reconstructed in the original spirit of its founder, Jonathan Bryan. The mill lies about one mile west of the Daniel Boone home and was slave built by brother-in-law of Daniel and Rebecca Boone, Jonathan Bryan.
is that the one where the doctor had all those log cabins for a long time?
ReplyDeleteThat is such a wonderful place! That is an incredible barn.
You can read about Jonathan Bryan Born 1759, died 1846 at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=102718095
ReplyDeleteNow... that said... I am not sure how a man who came to this valley in 1801 and died in 1846 built this magnificent structure around 1850.
Local lore says that it was the Fuchs mill. The Fuchs are buried in a family burial plot within eyesight of the Bryan cemetery. They were Germans who came in the 1830s. It's not as romantic of notion that this structure was built by non-English speaking Germans unrelated to Daniel Boone but it's something we must consider and according to local historians of Boone Duden... it's Fact. So if it is indeed fact... why skew the truth?
Todd
DeleteThis is fascinating. I so appreciate your passing along this information and for your interest in the painting. The title is intended to mean that the painting depicts a scene from about 1850, NOT that the barn was built in 1850. The owners know well that the barn is from around 1801 to the best of their knowledge. They simply wanted and commissioned from me a pre-Civl War scene, with slaves in the fields as they would have been and a line of customers for the mill. Now, the true mystery to the owners is how the mechanics of the mill worked, and of the strange openings in the stone walls. That they can't answer.
Best
Bryan